Noise Pollution
by TheNotSoTalentedPoet
Summary: Modern A/U. Roxas, a troubled but gifted young musician meets and befriends a group of fellow rejects. The fiery and unpredictable Axel, the shy and repressed Xion, and the kindhearted but broken Aqua. Coming from different backgrounds in many senses, these four strive to become known among us all. Their music will take the world by storm. They are Noise Pollution.
1. Roxas

**Noise Pollution**

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: For the uninformed, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did this would be a spinoff game/manga/anything other than a fanfic.**

**Just a warning, there will be an underage relationship portrayed here, so if that offends you, avert your eyes immediately. I do not condone these relationships in real life, but this is fiction and I can't say I don't have fantasies regarding this sort of situation.**

**And, for those who care, feel free to post how many references made that you catch. Happy reading!**

* * *

There were a lot of things that could be said about Roxas. Disaffected, solemn, angsty and a plethora of others used to describe a typical teenager. However, the most commonly agreed upon description was closed-off. No one had ever really managed to reach him, giving him a rather frigid aura. This helped to dissuade the vast majority of people from reaching out to him, thus completing the vicious cycle.

This unflappable persona that was shrouded in an icy enigma would be hard to associate with the boy lounging about in his room, headphones on, feeling the rhythm in utter silence. Tapping his fingers in a laughably bad imitation of the polyrhythm blaring in his ears, he broke out into a pensive, yet content smile. The drab, under decorated room, consisting of a bed with a plain comforter, a practically barren desk, a couple of sparsely filled shelves, save for a nearly full shelf of CD's, a basic but worn- in stereo, an electric guitar and amplifier, and a high-backed wooden chair, radiated an aura of simplicity. Breaking his silence to emphatically scream the final line of, "I know the pieces fit!" the pale, blue-eyed blonde took a sip of the water directly adjacent to him, musing over the myriad of things that the song described in his interpretation.

'_Everybody…. Just everybody. We always seem to fall apart, breaking the puzzle. It's no one's fault, at least in hindsight. But, there's almost never a way back, since the strife leads to something of substance if you let it. It's a slippery slope, and silence can ensure a fatal slip, making us lose our sense of compassion.' _He thought.

Ending the contemplation right there, Roxas let his posture become even worse with a slump. Resting his socked feet on the desk, he twiddled his thumbs in anticipation for the next track, seeing how it was another emotional roller coaster. Halfway through the song, he noticed that a thunderstorm had started some time ago; with the flashes of lightning giving the space he occupied a refreshing sense of ambience. No doubt influenced by the scenario at hand, Roxas proceeded to pick up his guitar and began to strum some chords, basically just playing what felt right, ignoring the rigid and fixed concepts of scales and structure in order to play from the heart. With his long, slender fingers delicately dancing across the strings, he stumbled upon a riff that he had been hearing in his head for the longest time. After a bit of tweaking and a couple of sour notes, Roxas had come upon yet another part of some yet unfinished song. This was a rather common occurrence, as in the two-and-a-half years he had been fiddling about with the delicate instrument, he had composed dozens of riffs that left sitting with no part to combine them with. Lately though, he had been coming up with more structured and extensive pieces, and this latest one was clearly his best yet.

After working out the kinks, Roxas pondered over the emotion that the music invoked in him, eventually settling on a sense of wistfulness, leading into a bitter rage once it crescendoed. Repeating the riff in an attempt to find a vocal melody, he discovered that one came to him extremely easily. Afterward, he picked up his journal from the floor to write the melody out, seeing how he had a verse and chorus readymade. Marking down the syllables in scat singing terms, he mused over a couple of lines of his oh so wonderful prose, with such highlights as, "Trapped inside… What seems to be… A windowless room… No light, no sound… Accepting what's given to me." Bemoaning the fact that they seemed rather pedestrian, he admittedly saw potential in them. '_If only they sounded less stereotypically angst riddled, though they're not awful. They just look like a teenager wrote them. I may be one, but the connotation invoked is just skin-crawling_.'

Stripping off his clothes in the wake of an ever impending slumber, Roxas reflected on an event that had occurred the previous day. Said event had resonated with him, despite occurrences like this being fairly common. Maybe all the similar events had piled up and this one was the proverbial straw in the scenario where the camel's back was broken. Either way, the recollection was very vivid.

* * *

***The Previous Day***

* * *

Roxas, having made his recurring decision to skip lunch, was passing the lunch hour by lounging in the library. He was sitting cross-legged on the second floor, obscured from view by three conveniently placed bookshelves, when a gaggle of students came wandering in. He briefly thought of their names, quickly discerning their identities as that of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Not noticing the solitary blonde, they proceeded to initiate a conversation between the three of them.

"Man, fucking Miss Gainsborough!" Hayner said.

"Dude, keep your voice down," Olette said, "I'm not getting in trouble just because you got screwed when it comes to who you hafta work with on a group project. "

"Sorry, but you know I got completely fucked, right?" Hayner replied in a more even tone. "I mean, of all the people I had to get stuck with, it just HAD to be him. No one else, even Seifer, God forbid, was left alone. So, of course I get stuck with the wallflower who never fucking speaks."

"How is that a problem?" Pence queried.

"It's a problem cuz the prick wouldn't fucking talk to me," Hayner responded. "The little bitch just sat there and read the book we were assigned," he started gesticulating as he spoke more emphatically. "Our report isn't due for a month, and he's fucking reading the book immediately. He wouldn't chill out and talk casually, and I tried man, I really tried to give him a chance, but he walled me off. "

Roxas, having overheard this exchange, scoffed. _'Yeah, sure. You just talked at me nonstop about stupid shit, like girls, Call of Duty, Tyga, and other nonsensical things, so even if I did wanna talk, I wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise. And yes, reading is SOOOO scandalous. Why, it makes you more intelligent. Oh, the horror!' _

"Well," Olette said, "Look on the bright side. He'll probably do all the work for you, leaving you to retain your unchanged routine of just screwing around. That, plus the fact that Whatshisname is constantly outscoring everybody on exams, and you really need an A, seems to make this a great situation."

"But everybody likes me!" Hayner replied, seemingly missing the vast majority of Olette's statement. "Not counting Seifer and his gang, no one at this school is that cold to me. I'm not friends with everybody, but I can chat with anybody. It's just not something that happens, and he was being a total asshole."

"You sure you weren't just talking with your mouth on autopilot, as opposed to, say, asking him a simple question?" Pence asked.

"Positive." Hayner responded, "He just sat there with his nose in the book, being all silent and moody and stuff. It was bizarre, cuz I've never seen anybody who could ignore me like that."

'_It was indeed a challenge, fuckhead,'_ Roxas thought.

"Then you should just leave the little oddball all by his lonesome," Olette said, "That way he does all the work, leaving you to just camp out on your lazy ass and coast through the next month with no hassle."

"Good idea!" Hayner replied, now actually hearing what Olette said, "Now I'll finally get an A in English, and I won't have to lift a solitary finger to do it. Fuckin' A! … Literally!"

"Well," Pence said, "let's am-scray before we get bitched out for being too loud in the library all because someone's on his pissy little man period."

"Fuck you man, but yeah, let's leave. This place is a haunting ground for losers, freaks, and other undesirables. Don't wanna ruin our reputation now, do we?

'_I guess you don't,'_ thought Roxas as they turned around to leave. _'After all, who wants to be seen with me, Undesirable Number 1?'_

* * *

***End Flashback***

* * *

Pushing aside his irritation at having to do the work by himself, not that that was in any way unorthodox, Roxas had already finished the book, and was going to start writing the analysis that was due in two weeks' time. The work was not exceptionally difficult, as the book was neither completely black-and white, nor was it endless shades of grey, but a rather happy medium that was simple and easy to grasp, but could still invoke a lot of thought regarding both alternate and deeper meanings.

The frustration was borne from the fact that, like always, the partner he had been assigned had thrown the entire workload off on him. The most infuriating part was that the ever so lovable Hayner would take credit, when in actuality he would just sit and watch as the little kicked puppy known as Roxas did all of everything required.

_'It's not like I'm desperate for his help due to his keen intellect,'_ Roxas mused while in the midst of brushing his teeth, _'Rather, I'm pissed that this fucker is doing the same thing as everyone else, just leaving it all up to me. I'd probably do most of the work myself regardless, but it would be nice to have someone offer a hand, maybe leading to a discussion that leads to a deeper understanding of the material in question, just something. Something that shows them to not be another popularity-obsessed, vacuous, simpering little fool. Something that showcases a sense of decency and compassion, which most of my peers seem to be sorely lacking. It's not impossible, but I see no evidence among those whose presence I am continually in. If punishment comes to those who dare to cross the line, then why not for these jerk-offs? It's just another boundless maybe regarding the actual reason, but it's far from an uplifting sentiment.'_

After clearing his oral cavity of the many invaders that had previously plagued it, Roxas proceeded to climb into bed, awaiting the sweet release of slumber. Having recently broken his chronic cycle of insomnia, he was quite worn out, but, as is typical, matters of emotional distress kept him far from the realm of dreams. He lay awake in a half-conscious daze, tossing and turning, all the while never slipping into a sorely needed sleep.

It was there that the dam broke. Despite the aura of calm, cool headedness that he projected, Roxas did in fact feel emotions. He was adept at hiding them, but even the most frigid of people let their emotions get the best of them. Proving himself to be susceptible to this notion, Roxas finally let it out and cried. His shoulders shook with the force of his desperate sobs, his chest heaved with the strain of taking in air. His head was buried in his pillow in an effort to muffle the noise he was making with his wet, loud, and tortured cries. Mucous was dripping from his nose and combining with the rivulets of tears streaming down his face, forming a very unpleasant tasting cocktail that was created from bitter misery. For how long he cried, he had no clue; it could have been anywhere from five minutes to five hours.

After an extended period of bawling his eyes out, Roxas finally came to. Shaking his head and drying his by now quite moist facial area, he began to voice coherent thoughts again.

'_That was the first time I've cried since…. Since….'_

He couldn't find the strength to finish that thought, as the wound was still gaping and wide, despite being far from recent. If there was one thing that gnawed at him every day since it had happened, it was this. No amount of time or therapy had done anything to dissuade the emotional cataclysm that had ensued in the wake of it. Everything that was perfect was gone, leaving behind a broken and bitter shell of a life. It had up and left, leaving him with the dead and hopeless.

**A/N: As is probably apparent, this is my first story. For those who do so, read and review, enjoy, and I'll see ya next time.**

**-TheNotSoTalentedPoet**


	2. Xion

**Noise Pollution**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Kingdom Hearts. So this idea is still stuck as a fanfic. One day though, one day….**

**Just a warning, there will be an underage relationship portrayed here, so if that offends you, avert your eyes immediately. I do not condone these relationships in real life, but this is fiction and I can't say I don't have fantasies regarding this sort of situation. I am a total pervert. Also, a major word of thanks to my recently acquired Beta, Ahxis! Her critiques were very welcome to my inexperienced ears. You rock, you lovely person, you!**

* * *

The next morning, at around five, Roxas slowly woke, rubbing his crusted over, red, puffy eyes. The previous night, despite re-opening a not quite healed wound, had been just the liberating experience that he had needed. This had granted him his first truly peaceful sleep in months.

After sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Roxas swung his legs over the side of the bed and proceeded to stand in a very lethargic manner. Brushing his lip length bangs out of his eyes, he proceeded to make his way to the bathroom to prepare for the ever impending day. While in the middle of a very invigorating hot shower, Roxas suddenly recalled that he had an errand to run after school let out, meaning that his routine of coming straight home and staying there would have to be broken. Bemoaning this fact, Roxas let a groan of anguish escape him and slumped against the tiled wall.

_'Great,'_ Roxas sarcastically mused_, 'I may have nothing urgent to do to use as an excuse to shirk this responsibility, but gimme a break. I have to go clear across the city to see another useless counselor that won't even listen if I bother to say what's gnawing at me. A day spent with lotion and a Playboy would be more constructive than any number of visits to any number of these charlatans!'_

Stepping out of the shower, he gave himself a once over and deemed himself fit for "decent society", only taking roughly thirty seconds to run a comb through his eternally unruly dirty blonde locks. Following that, he outfitted himself in his standard attire of beat up black Converse, and worn, loose fitting jeans. He selected a black shirt emblazoned with the seal of The Ramones, and finally donned his practically trademark thin, drab army jacket.

Entering the kitchen at 6 on the dot, Roxas started grabbing and arranging the materials- such as flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, milk, an egg, and some sugar- needed to prepare himself a tall stack of warm, fluffy pancakes. Whilst mixing the batter, Roxas debated making extra for the sole other occupant of the house. Since he never knew when the man in question would choose to wake up, preparing food for him could result in the meal still sitting where he placed it, cold and unappetizing at that point, upon his return from school.

Deciding to throw the dog a bone, regardless of how ungrateful the little bastard was, Roxas started to mix the batter for the other set while his cooked on the stove. After flipping his, and upon seeing the surface turn to a warm golden brown, he placed them upon a plate, stacked nice and high, then proceeded to smother the towering arrangement with enough syrup to give a diabetic a panic attack, tucking in and scarfing them down in a short span of time. Savoring the taste, he rose from his seat, bringing his now soiled plate and fork along with him, and walked over to the sink to rinse off his used cutlery. While he was doing this, Roxas glanced at the clock on the wall, reading the time as five past seven. He set the dishes in the adjacent drying rack, and then dragged his feet back to his room to brush his teeth and grab his backpack.

Letting the sticky white paste cling to the bristles of the brush, Roxas got to work, scrubbing every last nanometer of his teeth that he could possibly reach for a good four minutes. Flashing himself an open-lipped grin in the mirror, Roxas was greeted by a dazzling set of pearly whites, showing how effective meticulous oral hygiene could truly be. The only downside was how rarely it graced the world. Despite a hefty amount of effort on his part, he could not bring himself to smile for no reason, which deprived him of a tool that he could use to woo all the pretty girls he came in contact with. Not that he never smiled, he just rarely found a reason to when in the midst of the unholiest abomination to ever plague the Earth: teenagers.

Shaking the mild bout of self-deprecation off, Roxas slung his backpack over his shoulders and sauntered over to the door, ready to begin his trek to school. Grabbing his house key and stowing it in his pocket, he marched to the door, but suddenly stopped in the entryway, seemingly lost in thought. Shaking his head, which seemed to be a recurring action on his part, he shut and locked the door, and then set out on his melancholy way.

* * *

Finally arriving at the entrance of the embodiment of oppression that he so hated, Roxas walked down the hallways with his usual standoffish aura seeping out into the ether around him. His ultimate destination was his favorite haunt, the library. He spent roughly every second that he wasn't in a class in that hallowed sanctuary dedicated to silence and literature. It was set up in a way that would set any claustrophobic person's hair on end, with its narrow corridors and the close proximity between each shelf. This layout made it very easy for one to conceal themselves, something Roxas took full advantage of during those times when cutting class was just the thing to do in his mind.

Upon arriving at his special little haunting ground, Roxas immediately took up residence in one of his many cubby holes that he had established throughout the cavernous room. Though they were mostly established so he had multiple hiding places in case someone came looking for him, some of them were kept solely for their location, and he would select a location based on his mood. Today, he chose one that had a rather contented aura. It was situated about twenty feet from a window, leading it to have some level of illumination, though it was far from the brightest area he could have chosen.

Settling himself into a contented slump, Roxas pulled out his phone and, seeing as he had a half hour to kill before the first bell rang, selected Alice In Chains' 'Jar of Flies' EP to listen to, quickly losing himself in the dark and twisted, yet strangely mellow sounds that the music brought forth. Though it was nigh impossible to come out of the EP with a happy feeling in tow, he still found it strangely relaxing in a morbid way. Something about the haunted and isolated sounds of the songs, particularly 'Nutshell' and 'Rotten Apple', invoked an eerie sense of calm and clarity.

_'Even though I'm far from immune from unhappy, even self-mutilating thoughts,'_ Roxas thought, _'It still serves as some form of empathetic release to know that others have felt this way, and far more severely. I suppose finding solace in music that could be represented visually by a large, gaping and bleeding wound is a healthier outlet than a lot of other shit I could be doing.'_

After listening to this beloved collection of songs, Roxas put his phone back in his right front pocket and sat stilly and silently, twiddling his thumbs in an attempt to calm the apprehension that had bubbled up inside of him. He sat like this, head directly facing the carpeted floor, until the high pitched dinging of the school bell vibrated his eardrums. Upon recognizing the sound, he drew himself up, letting out a discontented groan in the process, and set off for his first class.

* * *

After two supremely dull classes had ended, the ever exasperated Roxas trudged along to third period. Upon entering the room, early as always, he was greeted with a bright and chipper voice addressing him.

"Good morning Roxas," Aerith said, a bright smile on her face, "How's your day been?"

"Good morning to you too, and far from stimulating," Roxas replied.

"Awww, how come?"

"It's just been a very slow, dull day," Roxas replied while taking his seat at the end of the left-most row, away from the window, _'Great…. Just great. Now she's not gonna take the hint and stop talking to me.' _

"Why?

"I've learned nothing new today. Instead, I've been reviewing material I already grasp."

"Do you ever try to make yourself have an interest in the material?"

"If my interest isn't piqued organically, then I can't be interested, period." Roxas said, while running his palm down his face in a rather exasperated manner," I can't force myself to be intrigued by something. All I can do is get it done in spite of how bored it makes me."

The conversation ended there, as more students had begun to clamor around the far too small doorway. This drew Aerith's attention, seeing as she had to greet everyone, at least in her mind. Roxas responded by taking the assigned reading out of his backpack, and opening it while staying silent and blending into the background. This tactic generally kept others from engaging in conversation, but like the day before, the esteemed Hayner decided to rain on Roxas's silent, gloomy parade.

"So," Hayner said in a sotto voice while taking his seat, "Get any of it done?"

Though he had, Roxas opted not to respond, hoping beyond hope that the idiot he'd been saddled with would bugger off. This, sadly, was not to be.

"I'll bet you have," Hayner voiced from what had become a very lackadaisical posture, "Since you're such a goddamn genius, right? Nobody knows more than you, even though you never say anything unless a teacher asks you, which must mean you're better than us, huh?"

_ 'No, I just have no desire to talk to any of you pre-judgmental douche canoes. I'm neither superior, nor inferior to anyone in here. I, quite simply, don't like you people.' _This thought came to Roxas in the middle of Hayner's enlightening dialogue, making him miss some of it.

"… So, why don't you do this work yourself if you're so fuckin' perfect, you elitist asswipe? Cuz I refuse to contribute a word to this report. If you're smart, you'll do it and slap my name on it as well." Hayner then relaxed, thinking that he had emerged victorious from this little scrap.

Roxas, however, decided to give this infuriatingly cocky braggart what-for. "Or I could just inform Miss Gainsborough that you're refusing to work with me, and let her fail you."

Hayner, surprised by this occurrence, gaped for a second due to seeing the infamous mute speak. Overcoming his momentary stunned silence, Hayner puffed up his chest and did his best to look intimidating, "Right, like you have the balls to do that."

"It doesn't take much courage to sell you down the river." Roxas replied, his posture and tone radiating with amusement. "It's pretty funny that you think I'm gonna be scared into submission by that rooster impression you're doing there, though."

"Do it then," Hayner spat back in much louder tone than before, showing genuine rage in body language and by the volume of his voice, "We'll see if it's still so funny after I thrash your sorry ass."

"The funny part is that I would have cut you a break had you left me alone, but since you're acting like a complete dick, I'm not feeling very generous. So, I'm gonna tell the teacher that you're being horrifically incorrigible, and that'll be the end of it."

Hayner then surprised Roxas by actually taking a swing at him. This proved ineffectual, seeing as Roxas ducked the blow, then rose from his seat and backpedaled in an effort to establish some distance. This caught the attention of the rest of the class, along with Aerith. The class sat and watched as Hayner kept swinging and missing, and Roxas just kept dodging and backpedaling. During this, Aerith had run out of the room in a mad dash for the Principal's office.

Roxas, in the midst of all his dodging, was formulating some sort of plan to prevent him from receiving a violent blow_. 'Well, someone seems pissy. Great, now I have to avoid either receiving or delivering a blow. Please keep missing.'_

Continuing to dodge the torrent of blows being rained upon him, Roxas accidentally kicked someone's backpack in front of him. Hayner, not noticing this, tripped over said backpack while attempting to deliver a haymaker. This, along with Roxas avoiding the punch, caused him to faceplant into a nearby student's desk, bloodying his nose and knocking him out in the process. Of course, Aerith and Principal Strife didn't enter until after Hayner had slumped onto the floor. They took one look at the scenario: one boy lying unconscious, showing off a clearly broken nose, and another, completely unblemished boy standing above him. They reacted as most adults would, ushering Hayner to the Nurse's office, and forcefully escorting Roxas to the Principal's office.

* * *

After being interrogated and thoroughly punished, Roxas stepped out of the office with a rather pissed-off expression plastered on to his face.

'_Fan-fucking-tastic…. Two weeks of after-school detention, starting tomorrow. All for skillfully avoiding some slack-jawed idiot's attempt to pulverize my face. You'd think the justice system in a high school would be much more exemplary.'_

Grumbling all the while, Roxas made his way back to English, though he'd only be there for roughly ten minutes. Knocking on the door, he braced himself for the inevitable staring and whispering that his presence would be a catalyst for. After Aerith had answered the door, throwing a very disappointed look his way, he made his way to his seat, ignoring the musings of his ever so predictable classmates. Upon sitting down, and adopting his usual thousand yard stare at his desk, he heard Aerith delivering some last minute news.

"… So that's what you have to look forward to tomorrow, class. On a final note, Roxas, since you and Hayner obviously don't get along; you two will be switching partners. Seeing as Hayner is currently detained, I'll just inform you. You'll be partnered with Xion, and I really hope you won't end up knocking HER out."

Hearing that his partner had been exchanged for another, Roxas let a glimmer of relief wash over his face for a few seconds. This rare display of emotion was doubled when confusion swiftly replaced it.

_'Xion…? That name doesn't ring any bells, and that's odd. …Oh!' _Roxas's face lit up with all the evidence needed to show that he just had a 'Eureka!' moment._ 'She must be that new transfer student that was supposed to arrive today… Well, great. Now she's definitely going to think I'm some kind of lunkhead douche who punches people willy-nilly. At least she's not Hayner, I guess._

He began to survey the room for the lone unfamiliar face of his new partner. Within a few seconds, he zeroed in on an unfamiliar face that was two rows over, and a few seats up. As a result of her placement, Roxas could only make out the corner of her face. Other than noting her mid-neck length black hair and pale skin, the angle she was at was too disadvantageous for him to glean any more details.

The bell soon rang, and the classroom became a madhouse as a result of overzealous students clamoring to be the first one out of the door. Roxas, thinking such enthusiasm was wasted on such a simple task, approached the door at a much slower pace. Somewhere between his seat and the door, however, he heard an unfamiliar voice coming from his right side.

"E-e-excuse me," said the mystery person in a wavering voice, "Are you Roxas?'

Roxas turned his head to the right, and took in the girl that stood before him. She was roughly three-quarters of a head shorter than him, and dressed simply in black jeans, cobalt lo top Converse, a leather bracelet with the words 'A Perfect Circle' emblazoned on it, and, to top it all off, a black T-shirt with a rather intricate design of a blue, gothic heart. What was most striking to him, though, were her eyes. They were dark blue, like the ocean, and held a vibrant depth that was easy to find oneself trapped in. Roxas also observed how her eyes flitted to and fro, like she was waiting for something to lunge at her at any moment. Once she began twirling her hair in an anxious manner, he decided to spare the poor girl the awkwardness.

"Uh, yeah, I'm Roxas… You're Xion, I take it?" he said as he awkwardly extended his arm in an attempt to offer a handshake.

"Uh-huh," she replied as she shook his hand with trembling fingers, "I just wanted to s-s-see how you wanted to do things for the project, and I didn't know if I'd see you again today, and I have no way to contact you, and I didn't want to have to wait 'till tomorrow, and-

"Whoa there, relax," he said as he put his arms up in an attempt to appear non-threatening, "I'm not gonna bite you or anything.… We should try to continue this conversation later. D'you know where your next class is?"

"Ummmmm….. Trigonometry with Mr. Leonhart," she said after looking away for a second while lost in thought.

"Oh, me too. Do you need someone to show you where it is?"

"Ummm…" she said as her eyes started moving uncontrollably once again, "Yeah, I guess…. B-but only if it's not an inconvenience-"

"Don't worry, it's not," Roxas reassured her, "But we should make haste, cuz we're gonna be late in a little bit."

With this, the two teens made their way out of the door and into the wild blue yonder of a bustling school hallway.

* * *

As the final bell rang, signaling the end of yet another dreary, boredom-filled, suicide-inducing day, Roxas felt a sense of righteous freedom envelop his very essence. However, not long after, a familiar sobering reminder that he would be forced to attend the soul-crushing institution known as high school the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, ad infinitum.

Roxas stood up, and made his way over to Xion's desk. In a massive coinkydink, it turned out, they ended up having the same third, fourth, sixth, and eighth periods together, and had been talking fairly regularly during lulls in the teacher's long-winded speeches about nothing really in particular. As he drew closer, she turned her head in his direction, and gave him another good look at her eyes. Roxas observed that they weren't looking every which way in nervous delirium, and she appeared much less high-strung. Hell, she even had a hint of a smile on her pretty face.

"So…" Roxas began in a very suave manner,scratching the back of his head nervously, "Do you wanna, like, trade numbers or anything for the sake of convenience, or something…?" _'Smooth, Roxas. SMOOTH.'_

"Yeah, okay," she said. They then swapped numbers, like teenagers do. "I-I'm gonna try to read as much of the book tonight as I can, and then I'll blow you away with my astounding insight and knowledge on it tomorrow!" At this she finally let shine a goofy beam of a smile.

"Yeah, you go ahead and aim for the stars there, Missy," retorted Roxas dryly, "I'll be sure to catch you when you spiral out and plummet back to Earth." A teasing, lopsided grin that had inexplicably appeared on Roxas's face during that remark served to punctuate his statement.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words, you cocky person, you!" said Xion whilst slinging her backpack over her shoulders and moving to walk with Roxas. They moved throughout the halls, chatting amiably about this, that, and the other thing. During their leisurely bid for freedom, many a student stopped to stare at the infamous wallflower actually talking, smiling, laughing, joking, the whole shebang. After seeing what was surely a sign of the imminent apocalypse, they then noted that he was talking to the new chick. Watching Undesirable Number One actually speaking with more than his derisive glances would be a spectacle that the entire world should be clamoring to feast their eyes on, but seeing him conversing with someone belonging to the Double-X Chromosome Club just made the gossip that would ensue all the more juicy.

Ignoring the slack-jawed gazes of some of the more overtly gawping Rhodes Scholars, Roxas walked over to the main entrance with Xion close behind him. After crossing the threshold to the outside world, they separated for their respective routes home: riding the bus for Xion, and walking home for Roxas. As he trudged along to reach the tram station, he mused on the events that led him to make Xion's acquaintance.

_'Well… Never figured I'd actually meet someone who was legitimately cool at that hellish abyss,' _thought Roxas as he crossed a vacant street, inching ever closer to his destination, _'Still, it's kind of sad how nervous she was when she first approached me. It's like she had seen a ghost, a zombie, a werewolf, and a vampire having a weird orgy, and then watching the demonic love-child from that unholy union be born. Like something or someone was going to lunge out and take a chunk out of her. I'm glad she was able to lighten up after a bit, though. _

At last he had reached the station, and thankfully he had enough Munny to get him a ticket to the Tram Common area. Swiftly purchasing his way to Mr. Therapist, Roxas climbed aboard the tram and took a seat. He surveyed the surrounding area, and noted that it was surprisingly barren. Roxas attributed this to the fact that it had not yet reached five o'clock, which would spell doom for tram-goers everywhere when working men crowded them like exceptionally tightly packed tuna. Shaking his head to rouse himself from his momentary retreat into thought, he noted that the few other passengers included a pretty blue-haired girl and nobody else really worth committing to his ever expanding memory bank. After looking for a few seconds, and realizing that pretty was an understatement in this lady's case, he came to the conclusion that she was simply stunning. Gorgeous, even. Fighting with his more lascivious line of thought, Roxas opted to not stare gapingly at this beautiful woman, and instead diverted his eyes to the window. When the tram finally took off and descended into the tunnels, he found plenty of things to stare at. Plenty of things, indeed.

* * *

**A/N: Well, this chapter was an exercise in pulling teeth. I assure anyone that still cares that the next update should only take a couple of weeks. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, and stay tuned for more! Read, review, enjoy, and I'll see ya next time!**

**-TheNotSoTalentedPoet**


	3. Aligning of the Stars

**Noise Pollution**

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: Insert usual spiel about how I don't own this marvelous work whose world I am twisting to my liking. We clear? Yeah? Good.**

**Just a warning, there will be an underage relationship portrayed here, so if that offends you, avert your eyes immediately. I do not condone these relationships in real life, but this is fiction and I can't say I don't have fantasies regarding this sort of situation. I'm sure everybody cares. This has not been Beta-read, as I'm very impatient. Feel free to savage it viciously all the same.**

* * *

She was staring at him.

Not subtly, like if she wanted to avoid being caught. No, she was gaping with wide eyes, and a partially unhinged jaw. As much as Roxas's ego was being bolstered at having such a delightfully beautiful creature so obviously enthralled with him, he still felt something was off. He wasn't THAT pretty, after all.

_'Huh,' _Roxas thought, _'I never thought I'd feel so awkward when this happened. Though, I suppose it's fitting now that I actually think about it. I seem to be a beacon for awkwardness to gravitate to in all circumstances. Aren't I just the coolest?'_

Even as Roxas slightly turned his head to meet her gaze, it did not abate. He raised an eyebrow in an attempt to catch the woman's attention, but that had absolutely no effect. If anything, she stared more blatantly. It was trancelike, as if she'd been set upon by a hypnotist. After a bit of thinking, he decided to speak up about the odd situation he had found himself in.

"Take a picture," Roxas said. "It might last longer."

Like the hypnotist had snapped his fingers, the spell on her broke, and her mouth snapped shut. With a light blush coloring her pale cheeks, she began to make an attempt to compose herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said while wringing her hands nervously. "You just reminded me of-"a dark look flickered over her eyes at that comment, "… Never mind. I'm sorry to bother you." She then diverted her eyes toward the scenery going by in the window.

"No, it's fine," Roxas said in an attempt to assuage her embarrassment. "It's just kinda unnerving to be the object of an unwavering stare, y'know?"

"Either way," the mysterious girl said as she slowly directed her eyes back to his, "I'm sorry for causing such an awkward moment."

"Don't worry about it. To be honest, I could've been less caustic about it. No real harm in staring, after all."

She let out a chuckle at that. "No, I guess not. Don't worry; I deal with people being much less civil over far less valid annoyances."

"How so?" Roxas asked while quirking a brow.

"I'm a barista at a fairly popular local coffee shop. I have the pleasure of ushering hapless morons off to work with a hot cuppa jo in their hands," she stated drolly. "It would be bearable, if not for the geniuses who decide to try something new, shuffle about like they're about to piss themselves while I'm making it, snatch it out of my hands without even a word as thanks, leave while in the middle of scalding their tongue with the damn thing, and THEN," she threw her arms up in an exasperated manner at this point, "Come back in and complain that it tastes like donkey jizz, and then expect me to be able to do something about it. You already drank the fucking thing, and then you decide to gripe about it like I intentionally sabotaged the blasted thing. You're a bloody genius, you know that? Fuck!"

Coming off of her soapbox, she relaxed her posture, which had become rigid during her diatribe; she remembered that she had an audience to that little display. With a sheepish smile on display, she turned her attention back to the blonde, who had an amused grin adorning his face.

"Well, that was rather impassioned," stated Roxas dryly. "I'm gonna log this with the title: 'Reasons Not to Seek Employment Serving Fucking Coffee.'"

"Hahahahahahahaha!" her entire face lit up at that, and she became even more transfixing to Roxas as a result. "It does suck for the most part, but getting afternoon and evening shifts make up for it. The place is usually bereft of anyone looking for a caffeine supplement, and the pastry crowds are much more hospitable."

"That seems to be an adequate enough silver lining, I suppose," said Roxas while still grinning from earlier. "You're on your way to work, I take it?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"Your uniform is spotless, and nothing about your appearance is disheveled."

"Awful perceptive, arent'cha?"

He shrugged at that. "I guess I am. It's truly a gift, I gotta say. ... Though it does make it even more difficult than usual to try to un-see things." He let out an audible shudder to punctuate that sentence.

"I can imagine. How did you even tell that this was a uniform? There's no logo or anything on it, so what gave it away?" She was right, of course. The uniform consisted of a black polo shirt, and khakis. Fairly casual looking ones at that.

"Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that that outfit is a touch too nondescript for you to wear normally. I mean, you seem like you would inject a bit more color into your wardrobe than that. Also, I can see your visor cap-thing poking out of your bag."

"My earlier comment applies once more," she said, a bit stunned at how accurate his assessment truly was. "Granted, I apply darker, more intense colors into my wardrobe, but definitely more than this banal getup." She gestured to her outfit while pulling a face of utter disgust.

"I dunno, I think you're rocking it quite nicely, myself," answered Roxas smoothly. "Especially considering the lack of any vibrancy in the drab thing."

"Well, gee, thanks, " she said a bit bashfully, threading a bit of her hair between two fingers, "Way to raise a girl's spirits there, man."

"No charge, milady," Roxas responded with a winning smile.

They kept talking for the rest of the otherwise uneventful tram ride. Roxas was able to make this mysterious blue-haired woman laugh a good half-dozen more times, and they just seemed to have a relatively instantaneous connection with the other. Eventually, though, they reached her stop.

"Welp, time to go make pastries for people," she said whilst slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"What exactly is this fine establishment called?" queried Roxas.

"'Biggs' Coffee.' Fucking ingenious, right?"

"And here I thought the pop charts held the most uncreative drivel. That actually physically pains me to both hear and say."

"Yeah, it blows," she said over her shoulder. "Be seeing ya, I guess."

"Have a nice day!" Roxas called out after she stepped out of the tram. She responded with a wave while still keeping her back turned, and walking forward. Roxas then sat back and pondered upon this latest encounter with a female.

_'Huh, two in one day,'_ he thought as the tram rumbled to life again. _'This is officially the weirdest day of my entire life… I'm gonna have to find that creatively titled coffee shop next time I'm around the area, so I can dance like Iggy Pop, and talk to…'_

Roxas's hand met his forehead in a matter of nanoseconds at that thought, and he collapsed in his seat, letting his head come to rest on the windowsill behind him. All the while, an irritated moan erupted from his lips.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuucccckkk," he half-growled, half-moaned, drawing the ire of an old lady sitting on the other side of the vehicle. He paid this no mind, as he was berating himself for forgetting a basic matter of human introductions.

_'I didn't ask her for her bloody name', _Roxas groaned internally_._ _'All that time talking and I forget to introduce myself. Here I thought that I didn't have any real issues talking to chicks, but one pretty girl talks to me, and I try to act all cool and smooth throughout the conversation, but I forgot to ask the lady for her fucking name. God, I'm bad at this.'_

He sat in that slouched position for the rest of the ride, internally criticizing himself for his faux pas. In all fairness, he wasn't exactly the paragon of social know-how, but that slip-up was a bit egregious. The fact that he had successfully asked Xion her name earlier that day just rubbed salt into the still fresh wound, and made it sting even more. Lost in his berating thoughts, he heard the signal that the tram had stopped, and he noticed that it was at his departure point. Grabbing his backpack, he rose and made his way to the door, stepping onto the platform as the tram swiftly went on its way. He stood there for a moment while he fished his phone out of his pocket in order to blare some music while walked to his intended destination. Scrolling through his rather impressive litany of albums and songs, he decided on Tool's 'Opiate' EP. Putting his ear buds in their intended resting place, he made his way out of the station, and hit the streets at a fairly brisk pace while the intro riff to 'Sweat' resounded throughout his head. Which made him kind of headbang while walking. He was the coolest streetwalker you ever did see.

* * *

He sucked in a breath. Whether it was to calm his racing nerves or to recover from his pantomiming to the climax of 'Opiate', he did not know. Probably both. Either way, Roxas took in the sight of the building in front of him, and was underwhelmed. For all his anxiety, one would think the moderately sized two-story building would be as imposing as a massive gothic cathedral. Other than a dark-grey color scheme, the building was as run-of-the-mill as you could expect to find in a bustling city. Pulling one of the glass doors open, he slowly made his way toward the receptionist's desk. She had blonde hair that was slicked back, with emphasis drawn to two antennae like strands that dangled down on each side her face, and big, green eyes. Judging by the girl's short stature, skinny build, and youthful face, she couldn't have been a day over nineteen. Fishing the paperwork that he had miraculously remembered to bring out of his backpack, he approached the desk.

"Uh, I'm here for an appointment with Dr. Rien," Roxas said as he handed the girl his papers. He sat there with a blank expression as the girl rather unenthusiastically looked through the papers, a scowl marring her pretty features unflatteringly.

"Yeah, waiting room's that way," she responded in with a finger lazily pointing to her left. He walked in that direction, hearing her muttering to herself as he got farther away. "Fuckin' weirdo. Ordered by the Court? What'd he do, start a fire in a hospital? Psycho."

_'Yeah, cuz there's no such thing as prison or anything'_, Roxas thought sarcastically. _'Psychos and arsonists just dance gaily throughout the streets.'_

Roxas strode to his right, coming up with many more oh so clever things to say to the bitchy receptionist if he had to see her again. The waiting room was as run-of-the-mill as one's eyes have ever held a gaze on. Magazines, armchairs, and twitchy weirdoes abound. Roxas surveyed the room and noticed that there were no isolated seats, meaning that he would have to touch elbows with somebody who needed psychiatric help. Hypocritical as that thought was, the conundrum of where to sit was quite glaring. Spotting a redhead who didn't look like a psycho killer, Roxas rushed into the adjacent seat with alarming swiftness.

In his haste to take a seat, Roxas didn't really take stock of the person that he had sat beside. What he saw was a marvel to behold. This guy looked like the poster child for the benefits of Mousse. The hair defied reason and gravity, and was a marvel to behold. Roxas couldn't determine if it was glorious or stupid. Yet again, probably both. The rest of the guy's attire was not nearly as striking as his fabulous do, but that was an uphill battle to say the very least. Ripped, black jeans, black Doc Martens, and a powder blue shirt with a curious caricature and the words 'Black Flag' comprised the rest of his outfit. Pallid skin, a lanky build, and striking green eyes completed the visage. Roxas still couldn't tear his eyes away from the cephalopod that appeared to be resting atop the man's head. The man turned to him, and decided to try to break the ice.

"So, did Larxene give you the customary friendly greeting?" he asked with an amused smirk resting on his face.

"The receptionist chick?" replied Roxas. The nod he received spurred him to continue. "Oh yeah, totally. Nice girl, really. Very pleasing to the senses, at least until she opens her mouth."

"Yeah, she does that. Way to sound sexist, though."

"Eh," Roxas shrugged. "I'm not saying that all women are like that, but she has the demeanor of someone who's forced to swallow piss-stained Cheerios daily."

"I figured as much, never you worry, dude," the redhead laughed as he said this. "My name's Axel, and you?"

"Roxas," he responded, taking yet another opportunity to gaze at the wondrous sight that was the newly named Axel's hair. "I know this might sound rude, but I have to ask, how in the name of Socrates did you manage to finagle your hair into that marvelous style?"

"Checking it out are you?" Axel smirked. "It's just a matter of applying Mousse to bedhead."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. Ludicrously simple, really"

"It's a little underwhelming, but it definitely yields a magnificent result."

"Kinda goes with the rest of the outfit, am I right?" Axel gestured to his outfit with his free hand, as his other was draped over the back of the chair.

"If it was any band that wasn't Black Flag, the long hair would probably clash. Them or The Ramones are about the only ones I know of that didn't shear it short."

"So, we're two long-haired punk rockers, then?" Axel grinned.

"Yup. We're the punks of the punk rock community, I guess. The outcasts of the outcasts. We're the fucking misfits, man!" Roxas punctuated his statement with a slap to his thigh, and a cheery grin.

The pair then took to discussing their musical leanings, and they found that they had quite similar tastes. Time quickly passed, as these tastes were rather extensive, and a good twenty minutes went by like a bullet from a gun.

"… So, you play guitar too?" asked Axel, an expression of curiosity on his face.

"Uh huh, for a little over two years," answered Roxas. "I'm finally getting to the point where I can play songs without my fingers getting shredded, and I'm getting better at composing my own stuff as well."

"Written anything good?" Axel inquired, resting his elbow on the back of the chair and cupping the right side of his face.

"Mostly just disconnected riffs, but I like everything that I haven't scrapped," Roxas replied. "It's all got potential, and I think it could blossom into something truly spectacular."

"I'll bet… Oh, yeah! So, um… do you have any plans this Friday night?"

"I was planning on sitting in my room all night wallowing in my misery over my failed social life," Roxas drawled, "So you're gonna have to have one hell of a good evening in mind for me to miss that."

"Heh heh," Axel chuckled. "No, I was gonna let you know about a show that's happening then."

"Who's playing?"

"A band that my friend Demyx is in. They're called The Melodious Nocturnes. And before you ask," he held up a hand to let Roxas know to refrain from asking a question, "They're a punk act, kinda like Bad Religion in that they infuse a softer, more melodic edge to undercut the hardcore nature of their sound."

"Bad Religion-esque, eh…" Roxas had to visibly curb his enthusiasm. "Awesome. Where is the club, then?"

"It's called Betwixt and Between, and it's here in Tram Common," Axel replied. "You wanna give me your number, and meet me at the tram station? I'll drive you to the club from there."

So, they exchanged numbers. Roxas's contact list had been exponentially increased throughout the course of the day, and that was something he felt at once prideful and shameful of. Shortly thereafter, a nurse walked up and informed Roxas that the doctor would be seeing him then. Offering a farewell to Axel, Roxas rose and followed the lady down the halls. At last, they reached a large, oak door with the name 'Xemnas Rien PhD' on display via a plaque. Offering a silent prayer to any deity that was listening, Roxas stepped forward and opened the door.

* * *

The room was rather unimpressive, at least compared to the more grandiose offices that one sees in various forms of media. A mahogany desk with a snow white Mac computer stood at the far back of the room, and held an ominous air to it. Closer to the door, there was an armchair and, fittingly, one of those bizarre couch-bed splicings. Sitting in the armchair, notepad in his lap was a rather imposing man. Long, silver hair covered his head and obscured his face. Though seated, Roxas could tell that the man was tall and powerfully built. Hesitantly, he strode over to the couch, and the man's head turned in his direction.

"Roxas?" He got a nod as his only response. The man's smooth baritone didn't help the intimidation factor. It was a far cry from Roxas's own, admittedly low, tenor. "My name is Doctor Rien, but you can just call me Xemnas if you'd like." He extended his hand, which Roxas took warily; thanking Lord Buddha that the man wasn't an enemy, as even his relaxed grip was firm and filled with unused power. "Please, have a seat right here."

Roxas obeyed, thinking to himself, _'A psychiatrist that's built like a goddamn linebacker. I think I've officially found the scariest man in the world. He can fuck you up AND fuck with your head.'_

Lying in a supine position on the hybrid couch thingy, Roxas got his first clear look at the man's face. It had a very strong build to it, with high, defined cheekbones, and a very wide, square jaw. The most striking feature was his eyes, though. They were yellow, and bore an eerie resemblance to a hawk's eyes. The piercing nature of them seemed to peer deep inside you, mapping out every moment of your life, and leaving you naked and vulnerable, assuming a fetal position, all with a cursory glance.

"So, I'm gonna ask you some questions, just to confirm a couple of things. Can you be a lamb and answer them?" Another nod was the only sign of acknowledgement that he received. "Alright, so according to the information on your paperwork, you live in the Station Heights area with your father. Is that correct?" A nod. "Do you want to tell me what happened to your mother?" Roxas had a barely visible start at that, but composed himself quickly enough that it was imperceptible, even to a trained eye such as Xemnas's.

_'He sure busted that one out quickly,' _thought Roxas as Xemnas sat there patiently awaiting a response. _'Usually they try to ease me into the potentially upsetting questions, but he goes right ahead with the bluntness of… Well, me.'_

"No, I really don't desire to open up that can of worms. In the slightest."

"Okay then, can you tell me why you're here?"

"I'm positive you know already."

"Perhaps, but I'd like to hear it from you regardless."

"Alrighty then." Roxas took a moment to formulate his response. "The gist of it is that it's an ultimatum issued by Social Services. Me being here right now is the only reason I'm not off in Radiant Garden or somewhere in foster care."

"Interesting, "Xemnas mused as he jotted down something on his notepad. "Why do you think that that is?"

"Because I'm severely fucked in the head," Roxas deadpanned. "That or they think that my mind is too small and fragile to come to terms with some insignificant major upheaval. Either one sounds fairly plausible, to be honest."

"Do you really think it can be so simple?"

"Why not?" Roxas asked incredulously. "I don't see why I have to go talk to somebody just because of some miniscule thing that I'm dealing with all on my own. It seems elementary to me."

"Something's elementary to me alright." Xemnas's tone, which before had been relaxing and inviting, now took a sudden turn and was as cold and clinical as a scalpel blade. "You have a defense mechanism where you downplay everything in an effort to avoid asking for help. It's easier that way, isn't it? Never having to open up, never having to let someone in; it's all on you. Regardless of someone's intentions, they can't get too close to you, or you'll just shut them out. Like a child who's being yelled at, you just hide yourself away."

Roxas didn't say a word for the remaining duration of the session.

* * *

Stepping out of the building, Roxas's usually aloof and off-putting aura carried a striking element of insecurity. To put it in the simplest of terms, he had been shaken. Someone had managed to cut right through to his center and showed just how fallible he truly was.

'_He… He can't be right. I-I don't isolate myself. It's just that no-one ever bothers to look inside. That's it. It has to be. I can't be this self-pitying. I just can't'_

Even to him that sounded delusional.

He looked ahead and saw that he had reached the tram station after an indeterminate period of time. Going through the door and up to the ticket-booth, he saw that all trams going to Station Heights had been delayed for an indefinite amount of time.

"Great," Roxas stated dryly. "Some genius decides to park his car on the tram tracks, and then locks himself out of it. Marvelous."

Ignoring the few people who stopped to stare at the oddball conversing with himself, Roxas felt his stomach rumble. For once regretting his tendency to avoid the school's cafeteria like the plague, (too many loogie-laden muffins had been offered to him to reverse that decision) he traipsed right back out the door. Luckily for him, he spotted a hot dog cart right across the street. After purchasing a mustard and cheese slathered foot-long, he started to walk back over to the station in an attempt to find a nice, cozy bench to eat at. However, before he got there, he heard a rather distressing sound.

"Meow."

Roxas did a double-take at that. Twisting in his head around in an effort to find where the sound was emanating from, he spotted a snow-white cat perched on a garbage can near the center of a rather barren alley. Moving closer to answer his curious nature's cry of jubilation, he noticed that the poor thing was rather thin. Unhealthily so, in fact.

Stepping cautiously, so as not to spook the little creature, Roxas slowly inched his way closer to the cat, which was now looking at him with a tilted head and a curious expression. This expression turned to one of delight when it caught a whiff of Roxas's hot dog. Scraping the cheese off and tearing off a small chunk for himself, he dropped the wiener down by the cat, which pounced upon it and began devouring it ravenously.

Looking for a spot that was sanitary where he could sit down, Roxas found a crate with some assorted junk atop it, and swept it all off so he could sit comfortably. While doing this, the kitty, having eaten the hot dog at a frantic pace, gave him the wide-eyes. Looking right back into those deadlights that have hypnotized many a man and woman alike into giving away their food, Roxas exhibited a tolerance to those warm, tempting blue eyes that few other cat lovers could ever hope to achieve. The fact that he had already popped the piddly little chunk of meat that he had torn off into his mouth had no importance to this event. Not at all.

"Sorry, little guy, but that's all I've got." The cat still looked a bit perplexed, but started to approach Roxas with a hint of caution emanating from its emaciated form. Once it was within arms' reach, Roxas slowly put a hand out in an attempt to stroke its fur. The rumbling purr that split the air showed that Mr. Kitty was very receptive to his attempts, and he hopped up onto Roxas's lap, situating himself in a little ball. A small smile took form on Roxas's face as he scratched behind the ears of the little cuddle bug. The pair stayed like this for at least half an hour, but then the cat decided that it had had enough attention for the moment and then leapt off of him and scurried away. In its haste, though, it knocked something over. Roxas looked in that direction, and, upon further observation, he discovered that it was a guitar case. Seeing as his own guitar was a knock-off of a knock-off, he chose to investigate it on the off chance that it would be an improvement to his subpar gear. Crouching down and opening it, his grin became earsplitting when he saw the word 'Gibson' stamped onto the headstock. Quickly closing the case, he grabbed it and started to walk back towards the station.

_'A Gibson. A fucking Gibson!' _Roxas joyfully shouted internally as he made his way over to a bench and took a seat upon it. _'What are the odds? Even if it's Puerto Rican or something, there's no denying that it's a substantial improvement over what I currently have. And all thanks to that kitty. Poor thing.' _A frown had made its way onto his face as an indicator of his sobered mood. _'It was friendly, so it must have belonged to someone at some point. So thin, too. I wish I could bring him back home with me, but that wouldn't sit well with… Him. _

And that was where Roxas pulled the trigger on that line of thought. After that thought had burst his happy, little bubble, he just sat there for an unspecified amount of time, counting the cracks in the wall to keep himself occupied.

At last, the tram pulled into the station, screeching a familiar noise throughout the cavernous hall. Roxas made his way onto the station and sat down. He popped his earbuds in, and set his playlist to shuffle. As the opening piano figure to 'By and Down' reverberated throughout his eardrums, he felt a sense of calm envelop him. It gripped him tightly… Tightly… And didn't let go.

* * *

Something was prodding him. Hard.

Roxas awakened to the feeling of someone poking his leg. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he saw that it was the enigmatic bluenette that he had spoken to earlier that day, staring at him again. Call an optimist, he must be turning blue. He saw that her mouth was moving (a mesmerizing sight, to be sure), and pulled his buds out so as to be able to hear her. However, the music that was playing sounded out before he could.

"Take it fast… See through me… I'm a star, don't you know..? I've got it all… Yes, indeed… Manufacture my invincibility…-"

Roxas then went to turn the volume down, but was stopped by her voice. "Let it keep playing. I love this song." This was new. While his tastes were by no means exclusively obscure, this song and the band who wrote it were among the least-known bands that he listened to. Upon meeting a stunning vision of beauty such as this that also held a candle to such an underappreciated band made Roxas swoon internally. Outwardly, he was utterly flabbergasted.

"You like Dealership?" Roxas couldn't help but sound incredulous with this question. Her rather enthusiastic nod seemed legitimate enough. "You a fan of that kind of style in general?"

"Uh huh," she said, her eyes alight with excitement, despite her appearing to be rather bushed. "One of the good things about the abhorrently named coffee shop is that it's a hipster haven, so a lot of indie rock is played when we don't have someone performing."

"Like on open-mic night?"

"Yep," she said as she took a seat beside him, lounging about on the bench. "That and they occasionally have one of the employees- such as myself- get up there and sing if they can."

"That's an odd policy," Roxas drawled.

"Eh, it lets me exercise my lovely pipes, so I don't have any huge beef with it," she replied sardonically.

"I'm sure your pipes are magnificent." Roxas had a genuine smile on his face at this point.

He was once again able to make her to blush. "They get the job done, I suppose," she responded in a bashful tone, looking down at her lap.

"I'd love to find out one of these days."

"Well, mosey your way on over to the coffee shop, and you just might." She let out a yawn and stretched her arms over her head.

"I'm still flabbergasted that you have a clue who Dealership is." A snarky grin tugged at the corners of his lips. "Are you a monosyllabic punk rock girl?"

"Oi!" she responded with a mock glare, "I'll have you know that I'm extremely syllabic, Mister!"

"I know; I distinctly recall you saying the words 'hapless' and 'bereft', so I'm pretty convinced of your syllabic-ness."

"Damn right you are," she said, her earlier mock glare having subsided into a simple teasing expression. "I'm as articulate a person as you will ever meet."

"Yeah, color me convinced." The sarcasm there was rather pronounced, even for a deadpan snarker such as Roxas.

"Oh, yeah!? Well, I'll have you know that I'm…"

This banter kept on for a while, and only really stopped when the tram reached Roxas's stop. Rising and grabbing his backpack and newly acquired guitar case, Roxas was surprised when the mystery woman rose alongside him, grabbing her bag as well. The two made their way out of the station, and into the cool night air. As they walked directly adjacent to each other, she finally asked about the guitar case.

"So, is that why you were in Tram Common?" she asked, training her eyes on the large piece of black plastic. "To acquire that?

"No, just a lucky break, really." Roxas answered as they took a turn on some street corner. "I was feeding a stray cat, and it was just sitting in an alley, obviously having been abandoned."

"A stray kitty?" she asked with a sad look on her face. "It's cool that you fed it, though."

"Eh," Roxas shrugged, which was a bit difficult due to his arms being overbalanced, "It's no big deal. I love cats, and I wish I could have one. Sadly, my old man would descend into histrionics if I brought one home with me. He's not a cat person, to say the least."

"Bummer." At last they reached the point where their paths could not be trod upon simultaneously. "Well, I guess I'll see you around, then." She started walking off. Roxas, having experienced this before, decided to handle things a little differently this time.

"Hey!" Roxas yelled at her retreating form. She turned around and looked at him very expectantly. "Could I ask you for your name?"

"What are you talking abou- Oh!" The realization washed over her face like a tidal wave crashing on a dark beach bathed in pale moonlight. "We never did exchange names, did we?" A light blush colored her cheeks once again.

"Nope, and I'm going to rectify that, Madame. My name is Roxas, and yours?" He punctuated this with a little curtsy.

She let out a hearty laugh at that little display of hyper-masculine behavior. "Aqua," she stated simply.

"Aqua… Pretty name. Suits you too." That comment earned him an exhausted, but still beautiful smile. "Toodle-oo, then."

And with that, they each turned in their own direction, and departed each other's company; Roxas to the left, and Aqua to the right. After five blocks of walking, Roxas came upon his house. Walking up to the entryway whilst fishing his key out of his pocket, Roxas observed that there was a car in the driveway.

His father's car.

* * *

Unlocking the door, Roxas strode into the entryway, the foul stench of booze hitting him like a tornado's winds. Fearing the worst, Roxas dropped what he was carrying, and cautiously stepped into the kitchen. His father was hunched over the table, clutching a bottle of Nightrain in his fingers. His normally slicked-back hair hung unkempt and covered his face, and his eyes were bleary and unfocused. The Armani suit he was wearing was wrinkled and stained, indicating that he had yet to change clothes.

The pancakes from that morning were still sitting there, untouched.

Knowing that this decision could be a major mistake, Roxas went straight for the pancakes in an attempt to quickly clean the dish and leave the room before his father noticed him. Sadly, while Roxas grabbed the plate and moved to the trash can to scrape the now cold and stale pancakes into it, Braig noticed his son, and began to speak.

"Roooooxxxxxyyyyyy!" His voice was slurred almost to the point of incomprehension. "Whe' di' you geh here?"

"Just now," Roxas replied as he stood at the sink, washing the remnants of twelve-hour old syrup off of the plate.

"Coul' you be a 'lil lamb, an' goooo ge' me another one o' theeese?" He clumsily attempted to indicate the bottle of whiskey he had in his grasp, but only succeeded in almost dropping it.

"No, Dad. You've had enough for one day. You should try to sleep."

"Ahhh wha' the fuck do you know, you 'lil shit? I'm the adul' here, an' I co- co- comman' you to go make a run to the store for another bottle!" He pounded the table with the bottle at that, the noise echoing throughout the decently-sized room. Roxas didn't even flinch.

"No," he said as he finally finished washing the plate, "I said it before, and I'll say it again: go to sleep." Placing the plate in the drying rack, Roxas moved to exit the room. Picking up his belongings, it seemed that Braig had one last thing to say.

"Y'know, you're the reason she's gone."

That did make Roxas flinch, but thankfully for him, that was all his father had left to say. Braig took another drink, and passed out shortly thereafter. Roxas went back into the kitchen, lifted his father's arm over his shoulder, and proceeded to carry the unconscious man to his room. Thanking some supernatural force whose existence he questioned for them living in a one-story building, he managed to get Daddy to his room, and into his bed. Roxas even pulled the covers back, and made an attempt to tuck him in. _'I'm starting to wonder who the adult is here,' _Roxas thought to himself sardonically as he made to grab his possessions yet again.

Entering his own room, he stripped off into just his boxers, while simultaneously depositing his backpack in the far corner of the room, and placing the guitar case on his bed. He decided against further investigation of it, figuring that he would have plenty of time to in the morning. He made his way to the bathroom, and committed a raid on the many intruders that had crawled their way into one of the many cubby holes of his mouth. As he was rinsing, he thought back to his father's last words to him. "You're the reason she's gone."

"I know," he said to the ether around him as he fell onto his bed face first. "I know."

Sleep did not come easily that night. The moment was fleeting, too. Typical.

* * *

**A/N: A couple of weeks? A month? Close enough, hopefully. I'd like to thank every Follower and Favorite-r, so pat yourself on the back if you fall into either of those camps. I want to smother every reviewer in warm hugs, and other affectionate things as well. I apologize if that sounded awfully creepy, but I really am grateful to the four of you. **

**The song 'By and Down', is by A Perfect Circle, and it's one of their best songs. Too bad it's on a Greatest Hits album, which I hate buying. **

**The song that played when Roxas awoke is called 'Gia'. As was the line "monosyllabic punk rock girl". And it's by a band called Dealership, who are criminally under-known, even though they're defunct. I wholeheartedly recommend these two great songs.**

**Also, I'd like to offer a major word of thanks to the users SoraxKairi7, and Princess-Xion. They both reviewed this story, AND gave me a shout-out in their own stories. You lovely ladies rock so hard that the amp goes up to fifteen! I doubt I have enough clout to make this effective, but I'd also like to offer them a shout-out. Princess-Xion's writing is not for the faint of heart, but if you can deal with some seriously fucked-up stuff happening to any character she writes, then you should check her out. Her ongoing stories, "Love Must Come: Rebirth" and "Guardians" are really good so far. SoraxKairi7 (I wonder who she ships) is very talented, and her story "Just Missed The Train" is one of the best Kingdom Hearts Stories I've ever read. And I've read a lot, mind you. Her ongoing one, "Chandelier", is also very good, and I can't wait for her next up date. If you aren't here because of them, or you don't know of them, go give them some love. Thanks again, you beautiful people, you!**

**Read, review, and I'll see ya next time.**

**-TheNotSoTalentedPoet**


	4. Impetus

**Noise Pollution**

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: Actually, I just sent my life savings off to Square in the hopes that I can legally claim ownership over everything here that I didn't create. So, the vast majority of it, essentially. Cross your fingers!**

**Just a warning, there will be an underage relationship portrayed here, so if that offends you, avert your eyes immediately. I do not condone these relationships in real life, but this is fiction, and I can't say I don't have fantasies regarding this sort of situation. The fact that this isn't a major deterrent to some of you is furthering my crisis of faith with humanity, so thanks for proving me right, fellas. Enjoy my awful poetry.**

**Much thanks to the amazing Painted With a Palette for Beta Reading this monster. You are the bomb.**

* * *

Sleep was a fickle mistress. At least as far as Roxas was concerned, seeing as Friday had come, and he'd had four hours of sleep combined since that Tuesday. This was the reason that he'd been fading in and out during a couple of classes that were especially dull. He was trying his best not to pass out in the library, as that would be rather rude to Xion. But, seeing as they were situated in one of his cozier hiding places, the temptation was ever present.

"Are you sure that you don't wanna get something to eat?" Roxas asked while stifling a yawn and pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Uh… Yeah, I'm positive." She took a moment to survey the surrounding area, seemingly fearful of someone intruding upon their lovely little oasis in the vast desert of school. At least, that's what her nervously twisting her head back and forth signaled to Roxas.

"Okay, then…." He had a curious expression on his face at this behavior. "Just don't deny yourself all for me, though we both know I'm worth the effort." The teasing smirk that followed made him look like a cocky bastard, and Xion took the bait rather immediately.

"Oh hush, you!" Now she looked substantially more chill. "I doubt that even your engaging presence would make me skive off lunch just to be around it. I'm ravenous when my appetite is flaring."

"And now you're relaxed. My job is done."

"Oh!" The way her face lit up in realization was rather abrupt. "I didn't realize I was so tense. Heh, sorry." Her eyes met her lap as she twirled her hair 'round her finger in an anxious fashion.

"Nothing to apologize for," Roxas said, rising himself from the slump that he had found himself in, and placing more weight on his hindquarters. "Though, I do wonder why you keep looking over your shoulder like a paranoid sentry."

"Oh…. I-it's nothing, really…." Her eyes must have really been drawn to a spot on her jeans.

"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine." His tone was as reassuring as he could manage to make it.

"No, I'll tell y-" Their parade was about to be rained upon, if the three figures approaching their location were any indication. The leader of the holy trinity was a dirty blonde-haired, beanie wearing ponce whose sauntering reeked of narcissism. The tanned, muscled jock-type on his left-hand side had just the dimmest expression on his face, and the earsplitting grin did not help abate that notion. The blue-haired girl on his right held an aura of cold aloofness, and her one eye that was peeking through her bangs was crimson. All in all, they were quite the odd assortment of people. Whilst Roxas was questioning just how common blue hair was in a society, the triad reached them and Blondie opened his mouth.

"And just what are you two doing here?" The blonde's arms were crossed, and his posture was reeking of pretension.

"Living, breathing, occupying space in this miserable world," Roxas said with the most bored expression imaginable. "Y'know, the usual."

"Don't you talk to Seifer like that!" The football player-looking dude said in a voice that was far too loud to be used in a library, leaning forward quite dramatically at the same time. "He's just making sure you're not doing anything bad, y'know!?"

"Exactly, Rai. I'm just doing my part as the leader of the school's Disciplinary Committee." Roxas couldn't help but snort at that last statement. "What's so funny, chicken-wuss?"

"Disciplinary Committee?" Roxas asked incredulously. "That is the worst name for a club I've ever heard. That does the exact opposite of strike fear into me." He was barely suppressing a giggling fit at this point, and Xion had a shy, but still notable smile on her face.

Seifer's face broke into an angry scowl at that blow to his ego. "It's better than anything you lamers could have come up with," he practically snarled as Rai nodded stupidly in complete agreement.

"Hahahahaha!" Roxas clutched his sides to keep from collapsing to the floor in a laughter-induced haze. Even Xion had a hand clasped over her mouth in an attempt to stifle a much warranted laugh. Seifer's face darkened at this display, and his next words came out very harshly.

"What's so goddamn funny now?" he growled out with a murderous glint in his eyes. His arms tensed up as if he anticipated a brawl to erupt from this situation.

"'Lamers?'" Roxas managed to get out amidst his uncontrollable guffaws. "You just…. Coined…. The worst…. Insult…. Ever!" He was wheezing at this point.

Seifer's expression was positively inhuman at this point. Rai seemed to comprehend the sleight, and also looked ready to engage in some meaningless battle. Fuu kept her neutral expression in check and just looked completely disinterested in being there. Seifer's eyes darted between Roxas's barely upright form and Xion's heavily blushing face as she lost the battle to contain her laughter and she collapsed against Roxas in her euphoric fit of giggles. "Rai, let's thrash 'em." The words were garbled, but Rai seemed to understand them just fine.

Roxas sobered instantaneously and stood up with a determined look in his eyes. "''Em?'" He spoke in an eerily calm voice. "Meaning her as well?"

"Oh, we've got Fuu for that. Right?" A noncommittal nod served as his only answer.

"Look, you wanna take me on? That's fine; I can't say I didn't do anything to cause this reaction. But, you keep it between us. I'm fine with taking on that gorilla you have for backup alongside you, but she's an innocent. Leave her out of it."

"As if. If you get on your knees and beg, MAYBE I'll let her off the hook."

Roxas felt conflicted about this. On the one hand, it would really damage his pride to kneel before the cretin before him, and he knew it still wouldn't appease their beef with him. Conversely, he knew that Xion likely wouldn't stand a chance against Fuu. The apparent albino had a reputation for being rather ruthless in physical altercations, and, though he didn't want to assume Xion needed his protection, he didn't wish to put her in a scenario such as that if he could avoid it. Knowing that he had a finite amount of time to make this decision, he was about to begrudgingly get on his knees when someone unexpected walked in to break the whole debacle up.

"Hey!" the tall, white-haired man said, "Break it up. What's going on around here?"

"Nothing, Mr. Gabbiani." Seifer's tone was smug, as was his smile. "Just straightening out some insubordinates."

Setzer just sighed and shook his head. "Almasy, I highly doubt that. Go to Mr. Strife's office. I'll be there shortly to give him the 411."

"But sir, that's ridicu-"

"Now, Seifer. And take your friends with you."

Seifer turned to leave the library, muttering to himself about the injustice of it all. Rai was quick to latch himself onto Seifer's heels, though Fuu made to follow him at a much more leisurely pace. The girl seemed to view the idea of expending unnecessary energy in the highest disdain. As those three traipsed off to Mr. Principal, Setzer focused his attention on Roxas and Xion. His withering gaze washed over them, and Xion once again directed her eyes to the carpet's topography.

"So, wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Roxas swallowed briefly before answering. "Xion and I were sitting here talking, and they strolled up asking about what we were doing. Words were exchanged, and it led to Seifer threatening each of us with physical violence."

"Did you give him any reason to wish you two harm?"

"I said some things that made him mad, yes. But, I'm the only one who uttered a word to him."

Setzer pinched the bridge of his nose in a weary manner. "Roxas…. You know I don't mind you hanging out in here as often as you do, right?" He was offered a nod from the questioned party. "However, in this case, you seem to be partly to blame. I don't like doing this, but Cloud will have my ass if I do nothing here. You both have after-school detention today."

Xion's head snapped upright mere milliseconds after those words came out of his mouth. "D-detention?" Her voice was slight, but there was a clear tone of worry in it.

"Sir, she literally didn't say a word to them. That's really unfair."

"She's still an accessory, and that means she has to share the fall," Setzer said with a look of regret on his face. "I don't doubt that she did nothing, and I'm positive that whatever you did didn't warrant that reaction from Seifer, but my hands are tied. I'm sorry." With that, Setzer took his leave of them. Roxas stood looking straight ahead after the librarian's retreating form, while Xion was wringing her hands and breathing heavily.

"No, nonononono…." She started pacing back and forth, shaking her head at the same time. "I can't get detention." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "H-he'll kill me."

Roxas barely heard that last sentence, but he chose to ignore it in favor of trying to make her feel better. "Hey, at least you get to be around me for an extra hour-and-a-half." He offered her what he hoped was a reassuring grin.

A smile briefly broke out on her face, but she still was muttering distressing things. "Not good. Not good, not good, not good."

"Hey, Xion." Roxas raised his voice a bit, and that seemed to snap her out of her apparent trance. "If you're talking about your old man, I'm sure nothing major will happen to you. You have detention for one day, so if he's even mildly reasonable, then he'll let it slide. If you want, I can tell him that the only involvement you had was being unfortunate enough to be there."

"Y-you'd do that for me?" She quirked her head to the side as a look of bewilderment washed over her.

"Of course I would. You did nothing wrong, and I have no issue with taking the blame." He walked closer to her. "After all, what are friends for?"

Xion looked down as her cheeks turned positively rosy. "As nice as that would be, h-he's not very understanding. Uh…. Where are we supposed to go for detention?"

"I'll show you after Eighth Period." Roxas scratched the back of his head, and then his face lit up in remembrance. "Oh, yeah! So, um…. I was invited to go to a show tonight, and I was kinda wondering if you wanted to come along?"_ 'Breathe, Roxas, breathe.'_

"Ummm…. That sounds like fun, but I'm not sure I should be doing it…. I have a curfew and all….."

"What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Oh, well the show starts at about six, and it'll probably last about an hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half, so meeting your curfew should be a very simple matter." She looked up at him, and saw an earnest look in his eyes. "I'll be right there with you enjoying myself at the same time."

"A-alright, I guess I can go."

"Sweet." The piercing shriek of the school bell proved to be a major moment-killer. "Let's skedaddle off to class now, madam."

Xion was beaming as she followed him out into the hallway, basking in the wonderful feeling of acceptance.

* * *

If boredom was a burden that no one should bear, then detention was an enormous boulder thrust upon the shoulders undeserving students while they were in the middle of the desert. At least, those were Roxas's views on the subject. Xion had no real disagreements as he rattled off his grievances to her while they were strolling out the door.

"Now you know my pain, fair maiden," he said with an exaggerated level of weariness inflecting his voice. "I still have a week-and-a-half left of that accursed nightmare. More forced silence, lack of books, copying sentences, sitting STILLLLL!" His pantomiming caused Xion to let out a snigger.

"Oh, come off it," she said with a teasing grin on her face. "At least you have the benefit of being used to it. I'm an unspoiled flower in this field."

"Chyeah, right." Roxas didn't buy that for a second. "You heard the whispers of that crass lot in the back about how they wanna do awful, tawdry things with the teacher as a part of some twisted fantasy about being in 'detention'." He used air-quotes to illustrate his point. "Now, don't get me wrong. Miss Kisaragi is by no means unattractive, but I really don't see her as befitting that particular fantasy."

And her face turned a little crimson once again. "C-care to elaborate?"

"I think Miss Gainsborough fits the profile a lot better." He sarcastically adopted a contemplative demeanor. "She has the appearance of the prim and proper librarian type, but has the looks to pull off the transformation into a total sexpot with a simple removal of her glasses. She also has the wispy voice to sound like some odd dominatrix figure."

"Hahahaha!" Despite being mildly embarrassed, Xion couldn't contain her laughter. While she got it out of her system, Roxas stopped and surreptitiously surveyed her. _'Whenever I'm around, she seems much less anxious. Even in a crowd, as long as I'm there, she seems much more secure in her own skin. I hope she can find the fortitude to shake her nervousness off eventually.'_ Quieting his thoughts, he caught back up to Xion, and the pair continued on their way to the tram station in companionable silence.

* * *

They sat directly beside each other as the tram came to life beneath them and advanced along its pre-determined course. Roxas was slouching lazily in his seat, while Xion adopted a relaxed, but still proper posture. She turned her head towards him, and proceeded to ask him a question that had been swimming in the forefront of her mind since the debacle in the library.

"Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Well…." She trailed off as she averted her eyes to the ceiling for a brief moment before bringing her gaze back to match his. "What's the deal with that guy in the library… Seifer, right?" Roxas nodded. "Yeah, what was his issue with you?"

"The short and skinny of it is that he's a thug who thinks he can police the school. I don't like fascists very much."

Xion swallowed audibly before speaking again. "You… really don't like him, do you?"

"Not in the slightest." His eyes held a fierce glint. "All he does is prey on the weak, and whenever they bite back, he sics his lackeys on them. That contemptuous little coward has it out for me too. I've always managed to escape unscathed, but I know he's just waiting for a chance to assault me."

"Couldn't you handle yourself?"

"If it was one-on-one, then most likely. I'd have to contend with a complete lummox rushing at me, and a detached psycho making precise attacks if things escalated to violence."

She took a moment to absorb that before falling silent. Roxas, seeing how her face had become so downcast, decided to lighten the mood. "So, moving on from that, is this your first time going to a show?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded. "I… kinda don't get out much at all." She brought her arm up and scratched her cheek anxiously.

"Me neither. At least, not for leisure activities. I pretty much stay inside unless I have an errand to run."

"Why's that?" Xion asked with a ponderous expression on her face.

"I-it's not important. The point is, we're together in this voyage of unfamiliar waters."

She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "I-is it okay that I'm coming along? I-I mean, I won't c-come if I'm not welcome." Her eyes were once again flitting to and fro.

"No, you're cool," said Roxas as he brushed his hand at her. "I texted Axel at the start of detention, and he said that you were more than welcome to tag along."

"R-really?" Her appearance radiated hopefulness.

"Yeah, really." He smiled at her as she relaxed.

They spent the rest of the ride just talking about nothing in particular, and all was once again well. The tram pulled into the station in the Tram Common area, and the two departed swiftly. As Roxas held the door to the station open for Xion, he saw a beat-up black GTO pull into the parking lot. The driver's side door opened, and out stepped Axel, his magnificent hair blowing in the breeze. He saw the pair and waved and shouted in an attempt to be noticed. As the two drew near, introductions were made between Axel and Xion, and the three climbed in the car as Axel decided to emulate drivers in the Indie 500, and sped off like a lightning bolt.

* * *

As Axel pulled into the parking lot of the bar, the neon green sign bearing the title 'Betwixt and Between' was the most apparent thing to the trio. Stepping out onto the pavement, Roxas went around to the opposite side to open Xion's door for her, and asked Axel a question that had been bugging him since the initial invitation.

"Is this a twenty-one and over place?"

"Yup, why?" Axel answered with a curious look on his face.

"Well, gee, do we look twenty-one to your keen eyes?" Roxas waved his arm to indicate himself and Xion, who stayed quiet.

"No, but I'm not twenty-one either. Trust me; I can get you two kiddos in pretty easily," Axel fired back with an amused smirk thrown in for good measure.

"How old are you, pray tell?"

"Nineteen." Axel walked over to a large, menacing figure that was apparently the bouncer of the fine establishment. While the two were exchanging words, Roxas turned to Xion.

"So, whaddya think of him?" he asked gesturing to Axel, who was gesticulating as he laughed along with the bouncer.

"Well…" She paused while trying to think of the right words. "He's quite a character. And a pretty nice guy at that."

"I'm glad to hear that you approve of people I befriend," responded Roxas with a smirk.

"I-I just appreciate good t-taste." She adopted a smirk of her own, though hers was much more innocent looking.

At that point, Axel approached the two of them. "C'mon, slowpokes. I told you Uncle Axel would be able to get you in." He beckoned them with an outstretched hand.

Roxas shrugged and turned to Xion. "Eh, I'm game. You game?"

"Yup!" She managed to look enthusiastic about it, at least. They strolled right by the living tower of intimidation and muscle and into the dimly lit club. The bar area was situated at the far right side of the room, and the stage was its exact parallel. The lighting was predominantly in blues and greens, with some light peach tones here and there to accentuate them. As the three walked over to the bar, someone called out to Axel, who looked over to his left and saw a slate-haired guy waving him over.

"Oh shit, guys. That's Zexion over there," he said as he turned to his two companions. "I gotta go see what he wants. I'll meet up with you two kids later, a'ight?" He turned and strolled briskly over to where Zexion was signaling him from, leaving Roxas and Xion to find their way alone.

"Well, while 'Uncle' is busy, what say we get some drinks?" Roxas proposed.

She just gave him a quizzical look. "I-I thought that you'd established that we're underage. Have you got a fake I.D. all of a sudden?"

"You planning on purchasing some vodka?" he asked sarcastically. "I took you for a Sprite kinda gal, myself."

"Oh!" Her face was flushing in embarrassment at that query. "Heh, I forgot about that. I'll take you up on that Sprite proposal, though."

They went up to the bar and flagged down the bartender. The woman walked up to them, leaving many an inebriated male gawking at her form._ 'I'm starting to see why this place is popular,'_ thought Roxas as his own decency and respect towards women were being tested. Not that he was a pervert or anything, but this buxom lady who was wearing a thin white tank top could've roused the dead to life just for the chance to feast their eyes upon her. The rest of her wasn't half-bad either, sporting long, luscious brown hair, smoldering, wine-colored eyes, and an approachable, down-to-earth type of face.

"Hi, what can I get for you two?" Her voice had a certain tone that made her seem less unattainable than her appearance would suggest. It made her appear more down to earth.

"Two Sprites, if you please."

"Someone's feeling adventurous tonight…" she noted as she set two glasses on the countertop and reached underneath for the as of then unopened bottle of soda.

"I doubt our driver is going to stay all that sober, and she's a total lightweight," responded Roxas, indicating Xion to the lady as he improvised.

"As long as you pay, I don't care all that much what you're buying." She lightly pushed the drinks toward Roxas. While he was fishing the Munny to pay for them out of his jacket pocket, the bartender, whose name he now knew to be Tifa, by way of her previously hidden nametag, leaned closer and spoke up once again. "Just a bit of friendly advice: a lot of complete sleazeballs show up here at this time. Seeing as how she looks like a helpless gazelle, I'd keep one eye on her at all times." Xion straightened her head at that comment and tried to look more conspicuous. It was an effort made mostly in vain.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." He took the drinks and handed one to Xion, who accepted with a shy smile and a word of thanks. They sat for a time just drinking and watching Axel play the role of roadie to the members of the band. Before too long, however, a familiar voice cut through the smoky air that shrouded the room.

"Hey, I said 'no', now beat it!"

"C'mon, sweet cheeks, we both know you really want it."

Roxas looked on and saw Aqua sitting a few stools down, and he also saw some buff redhead leering at her despite her disinterested visage. His continued lecherous stares added to the already apparent uncomfortable expression on her face, but she looked him straight back in the eye with a fierce glint in her own.

"No, I don't. Now will you leave me the fuck alone, or do I have to scream to get you outta my face?" Her countenance issued an unspoken challenge.

"Tch, whatever," the man scoffed. "You're not even worth my time anyway." He quickly departed in a quite noticeable huff.

"Good fuckin' riddance," Aqua muttered as she entered a staring contest with the countertop. Roxas, being the oh so skilled social butterfly that he was, decided to issue the young lady a greeting, and called out to her.

"He seemed like such a nice guy, though," he teased as her head snapped up and swiveled over his way. Once more, a dark look flickered over her visage for a split-second.

"Yeah, totally," she stated dryly. "I was swooning internally, just in case you couldn't tell." She let show a snarky little grin to accentuate the sarcasm laced throughout her response. "That aside, whatcha been up to, Roxas?"

"Eh, nothing spectacular," Roxas shrugged as Aqua moved down to occupy a stool beside him. He noted that she seemed dressed very casually, wearing just a simple pair of blue jeans and a black shirt with the word 'Zero' stamped across it in contrasting white letters. "This is the most exciting thing that's happened to me for the past while."

"Can't say that I took you for a bar-goer, but I'm assuming you're here for The Melodious Nocturnes?"

"You'd be correct with that assumption." Roxas's eyes grew wide as realization crashed upon him like a monsoon. "Oh, uh, pardon my manners; Aqua, this is my friend Xion." He moved back so the two could exchange introductions in a face-to-face manner.

"It's nice to meet you," Aqua said as she flashed Xion a friendly smile.

"L-likewise," Xion replied as she managed to maintain eye contact with the woman.

"You also a fan of The 'Nocturnes?" Aqua asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"N-no, I just tagged along because Roxas invited m-me." Xion looked almost bashful at that admission.

"Really? Well, wasn't that nice of him?" Aqua then looked to Roxas, who just shrugged as if to say 'no big deal'. "Since you don't know anything about this band, do you doubt you'll like them?"

"Not really; Roxas and I've discussed music before, so I trust his j-judgment here." A large amount of the tension that previously wracked her form had disappeared."

"What bands really affect and move you then?" Aqua asked with a quizzical tilt of her head.

"Oh, lots! I like too many bands to count, but my absolute favorite would have to be A Perfect Circle. They just have this way of making me feel like I'm smothered in a warm embrace, and their music seems transcendent to me. I just really love them." She had a faraway look in her eye as she said that.

"Yeah, they're pretty awesome," Roxas concurred, chiming in from what had become his place of observation.

"Well, we're all in agreement of their amazing-ness. Onto this band, if you like Bad Religion, then you'll like this bunch of jokers." Suddenly a shout was heard over the myriad of conversations that were all audible.

"Roxas!"

"Uh, I think that the redhead with the magnificent hair is calling for you, Roxas," said Aqua with a smirk on her face at the sight of the peculiarly styled hair of Axel.

"Fucking cockblocker," muttered Roxas while standing up. "Alright, you two behave yourselves while I go see what he wants." He walked over to the other side of the room, and approached Axel, who was looking at him and shaking his head in envy.

"I leave you alone for twenty minutes and you're already between two good-looking women. I'm curious about the blue-haired one, though, I gotta admit."

Roxas quickly filled him in on how he and Aqua had made each other's acquaintance, which had Axel just chuckling by the time he reached the tale's thrilling conclusion.

"Why can't I have such luck with the ladies?" he asked dramatically, a hand pressed to his face in mocking sorrow.

Roxas could only shrug at that. "Beats me. Anyway, what did you flag me down for?"

"Ah, right. So, since I lost a bet with the guys here, I have to play roadie for them, and there are a couple of things that I need help lifting and carrying. Mind helping?"

"You figured you'd ask skinniness personified for help lifting things?" Roxas asked with a brow raised in skeptical disbelief, gesturing to his oh so muscled form.

"Uh-huh."

"Alrighty then."

With that, Roxas slipped out of his coat, depositing it on the stage, and followed Axel out of the back door of the club, where the cool night air was a massive relief from the lung-scorching fumes of the interior. Axel led him to a parked grey van that was situated just outside the back door; the placement would make their task a much less strenuous one. Roxas had to voice his astonishment at the quality of the equipment that was awaiting them in the back.

"A Vox double stack?!" His inner guitar tech nerd had a giddy fit of joy at the sight of it. "How did whoever this belongs to get ahold of this one?"

Axel had to chuckle at the usually stoic blonde's fanboying. "That'd be Marluxia's. He works at a music shop, so he tends to set good stuff aside for himself until he can muster up the cash for them. Sweet gig, huh?"

"Lucky bastard…." Roxas muttered jealously, but Axel's ears were keen enough to detect his envious words, and he had to crack a grin at them.

"Well, get to lifting, shorty!" Axel moved to assist his height deprived compatriot with the obviously heavy amplifier and they walked backwards with Axel leading the way through the door and back up to the stage. They kept this manner of moving equipment up for the rest of the pieces of the ever so eloquently named 'Nocturnes.

"I'm seriously wishing my equipment was even half as good as theirs," Roxas mused as the two of them lugged a bass drum toward the door.

"What do you play on, now that you mention your equipment?"

"Well, I'd been playing on some knock-off that was honestly just awful sounding, but I recently walked into quite the unexpected windfall."

"Do tell." Axel grunted as they reached the stage and deposited the drum for the band to set up by themselves, wiping the sweat that had accumulated on his brow directly afterward.

"Well, I stumbled across a freaking Les Paul of all things while I was in an alley. I couldn't get home fast enough." The duo reached the van for the last bit of equipment, which was the remaining bass drum.

"Seriously?! How the hell did you get so lucky?" Axel's voice was laced with incredulity as he lifted his end of the drum.

Roxas utilized their trip from to the van to the stage to give Axel the 411 on the events that led up to his acquisition of the prized instrument. Depositing the final piece, Axel leaned back against the stage for a quick breather.

"What if it's some notorious gangster's prize possession and he puts a hit out on the dumbass who stole it?"

Roxas scoffed at that. "That would be fucking ridiculous, dude."

"Yes, but you have to admit that it doesn't seem like something you see everyday. Like, how often do cats lead to great guitars?"

"Improbable though it may be, I'm not gonna turn down an actual Les Paul," Roxas shrugged. "So, is that it?"

"Yup. Now all we gotta do is just sit back until they start playing, and prepare to slam dance when they come on."

"You seem too mellow to really get into slam dancing," Roxas observed.

"Everybody has different ways to let their aggression out, Roxas," Axel replied, his voice taking an ominous air.

"Lovely. Speaking of which, let us return to the ladies, and you can meet the bluenette you seemed so enthralled with."

"Yeah, I think you've got dibs on that one, my friend." His obnoxious smirk was just a tiny bit away from being insufferable.

"Maybe," Roxas replied coolly. "But, that's not for me to decide. Her choice and all that, right?"

"I'm just fuckin' with ya, dude. No need to start quoting the Feminist Manifesto at me."

"Still, girl power all the way."

With that the pair made their way over to the female duo, thus forming a matching gender quartet. Xion looked much more relaxed than when Roxas had last seen her and he was glad that she and Aqua seemed to be getting along splendidly, judging by the fairly animated conversation the two were engaged in when Roxas and Axel walked up.

"Oh, hey, Roxas," said Aqua as she noticed his arrival. "Who's the redhead?"

"The name's Axel, milady." He followed that with a bow. "And you are?"

"I'm known as Aqua 'round these parts," she replied, setting her glass down. "I take it you're the one that invited these two to the show?"

"Yup. Being that I'm a friend of the band, I figure any extra publicity I can get for them is no big deal, even if they do abuse my generosity to exploit me for slave labor."

"'Slave labor', huh?" Her voice was laced with utter skepticism.

"I just played the part of their roadie free of charge, so I think it's apt." His tone made it clear that he was exaggerating things, but Aqua was not quite done.

"So, what was recruiting Roxas to assist you, then, dare I ask?" Her own smile was smug at that little dose of logic.

Axel just shrugged. "Have you seen this guy?" he replied, pointing a finger at Roxas, who was joining Xion in a contest of silence. "I think he could afford the workout; maybe build a little muscle on those bones."

"Aren't you just the sweetest?" Roxas sarcastically responded, chiming in from aside.

"Just calling it like it is, man."

With that, the foursome settled down, and Aqua and Axel made small talk while Roxas and Xion did likewise. For a time they were just sitting there, knocking back drinks and chatting, one duo chiming into the other's conversation at times, and just enjoying each other's company.

_'This is nice,'_ was all Roxas could think.

* * *

It was time. The lights were dimming, the patrons started congregating around the stage, and the sounds of one of the players tuning his guitar were reverberating throughout the club. Axel had the look of a man possessed as he rose from his seat and announced that he was off to go knock some heads in the soon to be formed mosh pit, leaving Roxas once more in the company of the gals. Not that Axel was a bad guy by any stretch of the imagination, but Roxas could not claim to have any complaints about his situation.

"Ooh, it's starting!" Xion was practically consumed by a never before seen giddiness that had completely taken over her form, her eyes dancing with excitement as she looked ready to hop up off of the stool.

"I hope they live up to the hype," Roxas drawled, but his posture showed that he was eagerly anticipating the commencement of the first gig he had ever attended.

"No need to sound so cynical," Aqua said with an amused look adorning her face. Not that Roxas was carefully observing it out or anything. "I think you'll have trouble not trying to sing along, despite not knowing the words."

"We shall see," he countered with a faux ominous intonation.

Suddenly, the lights completely shut off, though that wasn't too great a departure from the room when it was fully lit. While the trio at the bar blinked rapidly as a result, the unmistakable sound of guitar feedback slowly spread throughout the room, before erupting into a loud, fast, chugging, three-chord riff. It started with one guitar, before the bass entered playing a similarly speedy accompaniment. The second guitar joined in with a variation of the main riff playing over top of the rhythm guitar. The previously unheard drums burst into the sound barrier with a blistering two measure fill, before banging the cymbals as the lights came on, illuminating the band in a dim yellow glow.

The brief silence was swiftly followed with the riff once more as the pink-haired lead guitarist leaped about onstage, swinging his Stratocaster around while the more reserved looking bassist –_ 'Zexion,'_ Roxas recalled - gazed at his shoes, concentrating solely on the exquisite MusicMan that he wielded so disinterestedly, his tremendously long bangs obscuring his face even further, and the mullet-haired blonde on rhythm guitar stepped up to the microphone.

"Trapped in the undertow…

You watch the currents flow…

You stay the course and eat

The seeds of hate they sow…"

The mosh pit was already forming, and Roxas could note Axel getting in the thick of it, aggressively knocking his body against far burlier men with a fire that seemed to come from completely out of nowhere. Roxas directed his eyes back to the stage, where the slate-haired bassist was approaching his own microphone just as the chorus began. The three guitar players all harmonized for it.

"You try to break, they shove you down…

There's no escape; your hands are bound…

Tied to your fate, you can't break out!"

As the rest of the band dropped out for two measures, the lead guitarist and Zexion played a little passage that interwove their respective instrument's parts into one integrated riff. The blonde played a few beats of dead noise on his Ibanez before launching into the next verse, which incited the movement of the crowd anew.

"Do what you're fucking told…

But, what else do you know..?

All you've ever done is

Do as you're fucking told!"

Another drum fill occurred, and Roxas got his first clear look at the drummer. He was a large, burly man with a spiky hairdo that was a muted shade of auburn. He pounded the drums with animalistic ferocity and Roxas had to wonder how he hadn't torn a hole in the skins. The chorus was repeated, and then an instrumental bridge took over, with a different riff that was seeping into Roxas's skin, making him move to the music despite remaining seated, the thunderous bass filling him with the desire to feel connected to the rhythm. The tension that was bubbling up in Roxas became more tightly wound with each passing beat, building and building up to a great, noisy culmination, before only the rhythm section remained playing at a much slower pace than before.

The pair played a more torpid variation of the verse riff, and the mullet bearer sang the final verse much more softly than the previous two, which had been belted out. His high tenor was almost seductive in its crooning.

"Your lives are bought and sold…

Caught tight inside their hold…

Released when you're spent and

Their hands are filled with…

Are filled with…

Filled with…

THEIR HANDS ARE FILLED WITH GOOOOOOOOOOLLD!"

His relaxed, hypnotic singing gave way to a raw and high-pitched scream as his bandmates played the chorus riff for a measure before they broke out into the song's conclusion.

"You try to break, they push you down…

There's no escape; your hands are bound…

Tied to your fate, you won't break out…"

Their harmony was followed by a quick breakdown where each of them went to town on their respective instruments before ending on one last chord.

The amassed group of people erupted in a series of whoops, cheers, whistles, hollers, and various other methods to let the guys onstage know that they approved wholeheartedly. Watching and hearing this, Roxas had to admit that he shared their enthusiasm, but he didn't feel the need to lose his voice by echoing their sentiments. He turned to see Xion still rocking in her seat, seemingly still reliving the riff that concluded the song, her eyes closed as she was lost in a magical world that the enrapturing music caused her mind to create. Managing to crack a smile at this unabashed example of how music can truly send you to other worlds, he did a 180 and looked at Aqua, who had an 'I told you so' look on her face.

"Lucky guess," he teased.

Aqua broke out into mirth-filled laughter at that one. "Admit it: I am awesome at figuring out what people will like musically."

"You're awesome in general, but particularly at that," Roxas stated simply and sincerely.

"Thank you." She was looking down bashfully once again. "That's always a pleasure to hear." Though her smile was shy, it was still as radiant as it ever was to the ever feeling Roxas.

_'How peculiar…'_ Roxas mused internally. _'She ran that guy off really simply, and she was unfazed by everything he said, but when I pay her a genuine compliment, she acts like a shy schoolgirl. I wonder how often she's ever had them sent her way.'_ He had to cut his inner monologue short, seeing as The Melodious Nocturnes were counting off for the next song.

"One, two, three, four!"

Each member played simultaneously, with the bassist apparently known to the world as Zexion once more keenly observing his shoes, the drummer focused solely on the task at hand, his face stone-set in determination, the lead singer headbanging as he strummed away at his guitar and the man with the fabulous pink hair gazing skyward as he played a little fill before the blonde started singing.

"Don't waste time here…

Drive it into the ground…

Live for the moment…

It'll be dead soon…"

Axel suddenly appeared onstage, apparently having been vaulted up by some of the rowdier patrons in the mob. He danced about for a few seconds, and Roxas could see the Stratocaster equipped man chuckling at the sight of his enthusiastic friend. Before Security could reach him and forcibly remove him, Axel ran and leapt atop the bass drum, posing for a brief second, and then turned and took a running start before flinging himself into the sea of hands that rose to catch him.

"No need to ascend…

Feet on this floor…

And through it all,

You live in overkill…"

Axel was deposited gracefully at the back of the mosh pit, and he stayed outside of it for a few seconds to catch his breath, following it up with promptly diving right back into the throng of sweaty bodies bouncing off of each other. Clearly, Axel was a man who valued his body's safety. Directly succeeding that action, the song's chorus hit.

"Why give when you can take..?

Why save when you can spend..?

Faster comes undone…"

They really seemed to like their harmonies and their voices were an uncannily perfect fit, with the pinkette's high baritone, the bang-ed one's low tenor, and the blonde's seeming alto tenor forming a wall of sound that almost seemed like one, multi-pitched voice. They wasted no time kicking it right back into the verse.

"Saving's illusion…

Use it up now…

And in the end,

It burns to the ground…"

Out of the blue the song, whose rhythm had been fairly moderate up to that point, seemingly doubled in speed as a noisy guitar solo dominated the spectrum of sound. The Stratocaster user sank to his knees as he wrung every note out of the poor, green guitar by aggressively tremolo picking for a good minute. It seemed to emulate the anger of the lyrics, since the song had been fairly passive beforehand, at least musically. As he stood up and kept furiously plucking one note, everyone else started a palm muted ascending riff that seamlessly went into the chorus as the solo concluded. The band took to a heavier, more bombastic take on the verse riff for the outro. The blonde started screaming the lyrics yet again.

"Use just the once…

When done destroy…

Do it all, then

Undo it again…

Faster comes un-done…"

"Oh my God, that was awesome!" That was the loudest he ever heard Xion speak.

"So, you liked the second one better?" Roxas asked.

"Uh…" She trailed off, her eyes directed at the ceiling in contemplation. "I think they're a bit too fresh to gauge, b-but they were both really good!" Her face was alight with joy and wonderment. It suited her.

"Yeah, you're right about them being way too fresh to properly gauge. Aqua, since you've apparently seen these rapscallions before, I would assume that you've heard those songs before. Which one of them's your favorite?"

"Hmm…" She seemed just as conflicted as Xion was. "I'd probably go with the first one; it's just a great example of how to utilize dynamics for an interesting ride."

"So, you have no clue what it's called, then?"

"No, I don't. They haven't recorded anything that I'm aware of, so I have yet to ascertain any of their song titles." Aqua seemed to look disappointed when she mentioned that they had yet to record anything and put it out on the market.

"Well, if and whenever they put something out, I know where my money's going."

"Two songs in and you're already hooked on them?" Aqua appeared to be a bit surprised.

"Yeah, why not? I mean, if the rest of their arsenal is even close to as fantastic as those two, then I think that they've earned my measly Munny."

Aqua appeared as if she had a response to that, but the sound of the mulleted one speaking into the microphone served to break her train of thought.

"Alright, you guys having a good time tonight!?" The response from the patrons was made even more deafening due to the cramped nature of the room. Apparently, their answer was a collective and resounding 'YES!'.

"Great, great. Listen, for this next number, our resident shoegazer is gonna be singing lead, so let him know how much you love him. Ladies and gentlemen, Zexion Sumiku!" The throng of people let their appreciation be known as Zexion still looked completely disinterested. The lead singer continued. "Now, this should be instantly recognizable to all you folks out there, so sing along when it begins." With that, he strode over to where his amplifiers were stacked, joining his pink-haired bandmate while Zexion simply turned to look at their drummer for the count-off.

As they were counted off, they once again made use of feedback as an intro, before Zexion and the rhythm guitarist began playing a riff that had the entire crowd cheering. Even Roxas had to voice his excitement for their magnificent choice for a cover song.

"Righteous!" he exclaimed, his face breaking out into a smile simultaneously.

"Someone's excited," remarked Aqua wryly, but Roxas just waved her off. Xion also looked to be happy about the song choice as the riff kept building before the lead guitar joined in and signaled their transition into the verse riff. Roxas sang along with Zexion, whose voice served as a contrast to their usual singer's, being much less smooth.

"Now here I go…

Hope I don't break down.

I won't take anything…

I don't need anything…

Don't wanna exist…

I can't persist…

Please stop before I do it again…

Just talk about nothin',

Let's talk about nothin'…

Let's talk about no-one…

Please talk about no-one,

Someone,

Anyone…"

The pit was rejuvenated with a fire that was previously unseen as the chorus commenced. Practically all members of the audience shouted or sang along, seeing as it was a hit single for a very notable band decades ago. As was essentially tradition by that point, everybody but the drummer joined Zexion to harmonize for the chorus, and the result was as pleasing to the ear as the original.

"You and me…

Have a disease…

You affect me,

You infect me…

I'm afflicted,

You're addicted…

You and me…

You and me…"

A short little break commenced, and it became all the more apparent to Roxas that the four fine gentlemen currently headbanging and jamming away onstage had a certain charisma to them that was quite rare to come across. Even the mute that they had for a drummer had an appeal that drew eyes to him in a magnetic manner, which was evidenced by the many members of the audience air drumming to his fills, and most being fairly accurate in their imitations. Roxas looked to his left and saw Xion was rocking out with no regard to other's opinions, carefree at last.

"I'm on the edge…

Get against the wall…

I'm so distracted…

I love to strike you…

Here's my confession…

You learned your lesson….

Stop me before I do it again…"

They went through the pre-chorus and chorus once again, with just as many voices joining the bands. In fact, they were very nearly drowned out, especially when the blonde gestured for theaudience to sing louder. The man with the glorious pink hair seemed to be perfectly comfortable just being aloof and never directly looking at the crowd. _'I'll bet he's the biggest ladykiller of them all,'_ Roxas reasoned as the bridge took over.

"You're clear…

As a heavy, lead curtain;

Wanna drill you…

Like an ocean, we can work it out…

I've been running out…

Now I'm running out…

Don't be mad about it, baby…"

A short guitar break occurred, with the lead guitarist dramatically switching on an effect pedal while once more gazing skyward and dutifully ignoring the random schmo that leaped onstage to mug for the crowd before flinging himself back into the sea of bodies. After that ended, the crowd changed gears from the frenetic moshing that they had been engaged in just seconds prior and started swaying to the more relaxed beat and instrumentation while the guitar players sang the most complex lyric ever.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

That little refrain of five-dollar words had the crowd chanting along as it kept at its steady, more sedate pulse, once more building tension in the atmosphere that the music projected. It was they eye of the storm in all but the literal sense. Unlike the first song, where there was a building riff signaling the climactic catharsis of the song's outro, Zexion just shouted the refrain more aggressively and the others plunged into the final chorus as the moshing began anew. This time, Zexion was singing a whole new set of lyrics over the other two's harmony, which served as another contrasting element, since the one with the fringe to end all fringes was singing in a much more desperate manner than his compatriots' vocalization. Roxas sang along with Zexion, whereas most everybody else just sang the lyrics to the first choruses.

"(You and me… Have a disease…)

I wanna tie you…

Crucify you…

Kneel before you…

Revile your body…

(You and me… Have a disease…)

You and me…

We're made in heaven…

I wanna take you…

I wanna break you…

Supplicate you…

With thorny roses…

(You and me… Have a disease…)

I wanna bathe you…

In holy water…

I wanna kill you…

Upon the altar…

You and me…

You and meeeeee…

All the spectators were in a tizzy after that number, and even the antithesis of effervescence known to the world as Roxas had to share in their collective enthusiasm. He noticed Aqua staring at him in his peripheral vision, but it wasn't quite the same as the other occurrences where she became enraptured with him. There was no dark look in her eyes; no hint of past pain or regrets maligning her otherwise beautiful face. She looked almost…

Nostalgic.

Her expression held the same countenance as one would find painting the face of a person looking over old photographs; wistful, to put in a single term. Her slightly upturned lips served to further confirm Roxas's deciphering of what her mien conveyed. '_You'd think I was a cherished friend… Maybe even a lover, at least going by the tenderness in her eyes.'_ That thought made him avert his eyes and stare at the floor, hoping her gaze would pass over him. _'"Lover"… Yeah, not fucking likely.'_ He swallowed the lump in his throat before turning to her, which caused her to wipe away the look on her face.

"Is something the matter?" He dared to pose the question.

"No, it's…" It was apparently her turn to look away while she tried to piece her thoughts together. "It's just that… You looked so… Free." Her eyes were still directed elsewhere.

Roxas was naturally beset with curious voices in his head, but when he was about to ask her to elaborate on that when she brought her eyes to meet his, and he saw an unspoken plea in them, begging him to not pursue the matter. So, against his baser nature, he chose to let it drop.

"If you're not free at a punk show, where then can you truly feel unrestrained?" Sarcasm clearly was the most effective way to put someone at ease, as Aqua's demeanor noticeably brightened at that faux philosophical question.

"Where indeed?"

"A Smashing Pumpkins show, perhaps?" He finally brought up her shirt, and the word scrawled across her chest, which was totally what he was staring at. The word, that is.

"I changed in a hurry after I got home from my shift, so forgive me if I didn't exactly pick the most appropriate of shirts."

"I'm just screwing with you. Though, I do like the seemingly unintended irony of wearing the colors of a band known worldwide at a show for a band that hasn't even released an album or anything yet."

"Thank you!" Aqua once again seemed to be going into a bit of a rant. "Amongst the sleazeballs, a lot of weirdoes came up, sneered at me, and called me a poser. I naturally countered by pointing out the hypocrisy of those words, since "true punk", as they put it, is about rebellion and freedom of expression. So, my coming in with non-punk regalia is more punk than they could ever be. Good to know somebody can appreciate irony." She looked a bit bashful at that little rant, which was something Roxas found endearingly cute.

"Plus, Smashing Pumpkins are awesome, so there."

"Totally!" Xion, still vertiginous from the last song, chimed in.

The conversation was about to begin anew, but it was halted by the blonde's imitation of a certain Ramone.

"One, two, three, four!"

* * *

**A/N: Three months and two days later, and at least the length of this one justifies it. Or, so I hope. **

**To all of the Reviewers, Followers, and Favorite-rs out there, thank you so very much for giving my drivel the time of day, and not hating me for not writing as quickly as I'm sure you'd like me to.**

**The first song that the band played is called 'Break Out', and is an original poem of mine. The second one, known as 'Undone', is also mine. **

**The third song is called 'Infected', and it is by Bad Religion. You should seriously go give it a listen. **

**Lastly, regarding my oh so kind and helpful Beta, Painted With a Palette, you should totally go check out her story 'Lover's Internal Quarrel' if you haven't already. It is very good, especially if you're a fan of dry humor, which, if you couldn't tell, I am. Seriously, go leave her Reviews. She deserves them!**

**Read, review, and I'll see ya next time.**

**-TheNotSoTalentedPoet**


	5. First Steps On the Road to an Epiphany

**Noise Pollution**

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: …Eight months, and I've yet to receive any word from the illustrious and, at this point in time, troll-infested company known as Square… Perhaps they didn't receive it…? Yeah, let's go with that. In the meantime, Kingdom Hearts and all its lovely characters, settings, gameplay, and royalties are still not mine. **

**Just a warning, there will be an underage relationship portrayed here, so if that offends you, avert your eyes immediately. I do not condone these relationships in real life, but this is fiction, and I can't say I don't have fantasies regarding this sort of situation.**

**All the gratitude in my body goes towards Painted With a Palette, whose Beta-ing saved me from making this below my usual standards.**

* * *

Roxas was a fucking idiot.

Friday had been almost a religious experience, at least in terms of how he felt awakened and rejuvenated afterward. The thrill of seeing a live musical performance, especially one from such a criminally underknown band, filled him with a ravenous desire to build upon that experience. He now saw the key difference between listening to a recording versus seeing the songs performed live. Both had their benefits, but bands of The 'Nocturnes' style seemed destined to be better live.

That was without even focusing on the fact that he had been there with friends. Friends! The ever lonesome wallflower had managed to find company to keep. And without having to spend any Munny!

Bearing all that in mind, one had to wonder why he was admonishing his own intelligence so vulgarly. What could possibly have inspired such a negative portrayal of himself? Naturally, the answer was ludicrously simple.

He had forgotten his jacket at the club.

It was for that reason that he was contacting Axel at nearly eleven the next night. Roxas sat in his chair, pensive and expectant. Fiddling with his phone using the pointer and middle fingers on his right hand while resting his chin on the closed fist of his left, he was a picture of quiet impatience.

'_Knowing Axel, he's probably still awake. Hopefully I'm correct about that, but even if I'm not, I hope he has some kind of inkling of where it ended up.' _Roxas exhaled through lightly clenched teeth before continuing that train of thought. '_Of course, the one time I actually bother to go out and make a token effort to enjoy myself, I lose it. Of fucking course. Way to lend credence to all the teachers who labelled me a colossal screw-up. Roxas, thou art a genius of the highest fucking caliber.'_

Before that thread of positive self-gratification went any farther, a buzzing from his phone curtailed it quite handily. Entering his password and pulling up his archive of text messages, he quickly found Axel's reply to his vague opening line.

'**What do you wanna ask me?'**

'**You know how I was wearing a jacket when we got to the bar yesterday?'**

'**Yeah...'**

'**Remember how I took it off when we were moving equipment?'**

'… **OH. I thought something was off after we got done with that. Sorry I didn't bring it up while we were still there.'**

'**Don't sweat it. Since I recall leaving it on the edge of the stage, I was wondering if any of the guys in the band saw it, or, hopefully, collected it…'**

'**Lemme text 'em right quick, 'kay?'**

'**Righty-O.'**

Leaving Axel to inquire as to the location of his precious article of clothing, Roxas adopted a different pose; a less loose and relaxed one, belying the anxiousness that bubbled up inside his mind like magma. Hunched over, his fingers drummed a rhythm so devoid of any actual rhythm that even a master percussionist couldn't hope to find a pattern within. Not unfittingly, his thoughts slipped back to a less than positive train to ride upon.

'_Come on… It's so unlikely, but goddamn it, I want it to work out. It wouldn't matter so much if it was anything else I had, but… It's all I have left of… Her…' _

_**ZZZZZ**_

Roxas eagerly lifted the communication device, hope springing forth in his every motion. That hope quickly sank when he saw the source of the aforementioned vibration.

'**Are you awake?'**

Xion.

Roxas mentally slapped himself. She had no way of knowing what he was hoping for, and naturally didn't mean to disappoint. Holding her in contempt would be childish. With that in mind, he set his fingers to tap out a reply.

'**Yes, sadly. What's up?'**

'**I can't really sleep. Something's bothering me. Wanna talk?'**

Before Roxas could finish typing out his reply, he was interrupted by another one.

'**I mean, if you're not busy or anything. I wouldn't want to impose on you.'**

'_Why do I imagine her saying that sentence with a lot of stammering?'_ thought Roxas, his inner voice dripping with dry sarcasm. The girl was still ignorant of just how little he had to do with his time, or her shyness and insecurity were still pronounced.

'**Believe me, I am practically never busy. Certainly never busy enough to snub a friend. :-) ** '

'_Ick. Emoticons. Hopefully that sent the message properly.'_

A pregnant pause laced with silence and anticipation settled over Roxas as he waited for either of his correspondents to… Respond. Though he figured Axel might have gotten sidetracked, as he was quite the jabberjaws given the proper stimuli, he still worried about being forgotten entirely. On the other hand, Xion had him worried that he said the wrong thing and freaked her out. Something as uncharacteristic as him sending an emoticon could very well have spooked the doe-like girl.

'_They probably have far better things to do than talk to my socially inept self,' _mused Roxas sarcastically. Further thoughts of a self-effacing nature were not to be pursued, as Axel had finally chosen to respond.

'**You lucked out, dude. The guys found it and thought to keep it, apparently for themselves. But I just asked them all about it and Zexion said he was cool with giving it back.'**

'**Awesome. Any ideas as to how that'll go?'**

'**They said I could bring you by if you wanted.'**

On the surface, it seemed harmless enough. Just a bit of property reclamation, right? But there was just something about it that inspired feelings of unease.

'**Wouldn't that be just a tad awkward?'**

'**Why would it be?'**

'_Oh, don't even get me started.'_

'**For one, I don't know them. Despite any evidence to the contrary, I'm not particularly adept at dealing with strangers. Furthermore, I really know nothing about them, save their musical proficiency. Who's to say I won't be awful company? I might even alienate them completely, and that would be terrible!'**

'**Are you sure you aren't just being paranoid?'**

Though he couldn't hear him, Roxas could easily conjure the sound of Axel's voice in a deadpan manner. The bit of levity was appreciated, but it was mostly unnecessary.

'**Of course I'm being paranoid. Doesn't mean I'm wrong about anything.'**

'_That oughta show him.'_ That idea was slightly off.

'**Doesn't mean you're right, either. Look, Zexion is the same way, so you two will probably get along great. Chill.' **

He had a point, Roxas had to admit. '_I guess I really do tend to assume the worst of myself when it comes to other people.'_

'**Fine. Pick me up by the station tomorrow?'**

'**Sounds good. About noon?'**

'**That should work fine.'**

'**Sweet. Oh, and be sure to bring your guitar along with you.'**

'**Might I inquire as to why?'**

'**Marluxia mentioned that he'd like to take a look at it, and I'm sure you'd like to brag about it.'**

'**Not really, but I'll humor you.'**

'**Awesomesauce. Anyways, I gotta get my beauty sleep. Try to do the same, cupcake. ;-)'**

'**I don't need it NEARLY as much as you, but I'll see what I can manage.'**

'**Aren't you cute… Nighty night, anyways.' **

Exhaling heavily, Roxas relaxed his posture, adopting a more leisurely, slouching one. Content as he was with the knowledge that he would be able to reclaim his jacket tomorrow, he almost forgot about a certain someone.

'_Xion!'_

Hastily bringing the phone closer to his eyes, he saw that she had sent two responses since Axel regained his attention, and he sought to assure her that he hadn't completely forgotten about her.

'**Sorry; was busy texting Axel. Wanna call me so we can speak all properly?'**

The answer to his inquiry was not another text message, but rather, a set of loud, but punchy guitar chords with a simple lead playing underneath it all. He let the song progress to the opening stanza of "You spurn my natural emotions… You make me feel I'm dirt… And I'm hurt…" before swiping right and lifting the communication device to his right ear.

"Blue."

Roxas heard her begin a reply, but it seemed that his word of choice took her aback, based on her sudden stop.

"What?"

Roxas simply smiled slightly before replying. "Y'know how some people answer the phone with a 'y'ello?'"

"Yes…"

"Well, blue," he stated succinctly.

A brief pause occurred before Xion's "Oh!", and then she began laughing far harder than she likely should have, considering the utter lack of hilarity on display at that moment. The fact that Roxas kept his grin intact said worrying things about their senses of humor.

When the laughter abated and a short quiet overtook the air, it was Roxas who chose to break the ice. "So… What's going on?"

He heard her let out a few more giggles before replying, in a much more sardonic manner than he knew her to express. "I just laughed way too hard at something that really didn't deserve it, now that I think about it."

Apparently she felt cheeky tonight. Well, two could play that circular game. "Sister, I am utterly hilarious. Cease your disingenuous criticism."

"Oh, truly; I nearly die laughing around you all the time." He could practically feel her smirking, which would have been an odd, but encouraging expression to actually witness in the flesh. He made a mental note to goad her into mocking him teasingly the next time he saw he in the flesh.

"Disingenuous," he said in a sing-song manner. "But seriously, what's on your mind at, oh… Eleven-thirteen at night?"

"…I couldn't sleep, and I felt k-kind of lonely," she replied, all traces of teasing gone.

"Is anything the matter?"

"N-nothing in particular; it's just one of those days where I can't help but feel alone, if that makes any sense."

If she only knew how much it did. "Yeah, I understand. I have days like that all the fucking time. They really are a great deal of fun, aren't they?" Roxas winced as the words tumbled out of his mouth, as his natural inclination to be sardonic likely wouldn't be the ideal spirit lightener. '_Well, great. Please don't let that drag her down further.'_

Xion answered his plea with another laugh, this one decidedly bitterer and more resigned than the ones of legitimate amusement that she had succumbed to earlier. "Took the words right out of my mouth there."

'_Whew.'_ "Well, I'm happy to try to lighten your spirits if you'd like, or you can just use me as a sympathetic ear. Totally your call."

"I-I wouldn't wanna ask too much of you," she said, shyness and insecurity not so subtly slipping back into her intonation.

"Hey, Xion?"

A brief pause ensued before her voice sounded back to him. There was still hesitance in her tone. "Yeah?"

"You're not asking too much of me. Hell, if anything, I'm doing that to you, since I asked you and all. And, in all honesty, you haven't yet, and I don't think you will. I'm happy to try to cheer you up."

"I… Wow." She sounded bashful, but that had to be progress, right? "You definitely know just the right things to say."

"Do I? I was completely winging that, if you must know," he replied with an admittedly disingenuous joke. In actuality, the words came without a struggle, and were decidedly heartfelt. No blind stumbling around his lexicon was required.

"T-thank you. Sincerely." Though Roxas unfortunately couldn't see her, Xion's tone was much the same as when she had a grateful smile on her face. It even managed to lift his lips just a smidge.

"It's absolutely nothing, I assure you. You're too good to have to deal with all these negative feelings all by your lonesome. You might wanna wait to thank me until after you've technically taken me up on my offer, though."

"Probably," she replied, a giggle escaping soon after.

'_Ah, giggles. Pure positivity in every chime. Of course, knowing my luck, that may have been the one time it's bad.' _"Well, what's on your mind, again? Shouldn't you be asleep, or studying, at the very least?"

"I'm all done with my homework. Why aren't YOU asleep, now that you mention it?" Mock accusation filtered directly into Roxas's ear.

"I'm a chronic insomniac, didn't you know?" he shot back.

"Oh, y-you are? That explains the shadows under your eyes, now that you mention it…"

"You thought I was applying eyeliner and makeup, didn't you?" Two could play at the mock accusation game.

"Actually… I kind of did," she choked out, apparently out of mortification.

"Nope. Au naturel, baby!"

He seemed to have a knack for striking her dumb. "I-I don't know how to respond to that…"

He could work with that. He could work with that, indeed. "I don't know… Maybe offer some advice on what foundations could hide the splotches on my pallid face, maybe offer up some mascara to maximize my eyelashes' aesthetic appeal, not to mention some eyeshadow and eyeliner palettes…."

"Oh my God!" The peals of laughter had begun anew, and Roxas himself cracked a grin as a result of the contagion.

He waited a few moments while Xion got the proclamations of amusement out of her system before following up with, "Well?"

Her answer carried just a hint of incredulity. "Y-you were being serious?"

"Not completely, but on the off chance I ever feel like becoming a drag queen or something, I feel you have more cosmetics sagacity than myself."

Xion laughed awkwardly. "Heh, actually, I… Kinda don't even bother with makeup more often than not. It's rare that I even use mascara."

"I just figured you were subtle about it. Any particular reason you go cosmetic-less?"

"I-It makes people n-notice me l-less."

That was unsurprising. Roxas couldn't necessarily say what made her so retreating; it was something he recognized early on, but had yet to gain the necessary knowledge and insight to finger the cause. Deciding to be frank with her, he offered something resembling reassurance. "I can empathize. I go about it in a different way, but a lot of what I do is with that goal in mind, subconsciously or not."

"How? Everything I've noticed about you screams that you're constantly looking for attention, not even counting how often you say odd things to mess with me."

Roxas pondered on that question for a spell. '_Am I really comfortable telling her that? I mean, despite the connection, we do barely know each other in a technical sense. Hmm…I suppose I don't have to tell her why. I mean, I'm not exactly difficult to read in regards to this, but I guess the catalyst for how I act is the real mystery to most. Yeah, I'll just conveniently leave out the cause of my behavior.'_

Taking a quick breath to steady his suddenly sprinting nerves, Roxas spoke, both indirectly and straightforwardly. "I suppose I act aggressively confrontational and standoffish to make it to where people don't approach me. I mean, I probably would prefer if people paid me no heed, but I feel that it's inevitable that they will, so I actively seek to color people's perceptions negatively."

Roxas could have gone more into detail about why the hell he did it, and barring that, offered a bit more of an expansion on those views, but even going that far was difficult for him to manage. A cold sweat began to trickle down his face as he began silently panicking.

Her response was insightful. "So, w-we're complete opposites in that coping method, huh?"

"Seems to be the case," he choked out, hoping beyond the very concept of hope that she didn't hear the worrying waver that his words threatened to carry.

"I hope people that come up to me go away, and you make people that come up to you leave by being actively antisocial," Xion summed up insightfully.

They each fell silent afterwards. An eternity passed before Roxas next spoke to kill the static quiet.

"At least if we're screwed up, we're beautifully so. And we're together in our discombobulation."

"Nothing like a little f-flaw to make the positives stand out, right?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Roxas smiled dumbly in spite of himself.

"T-thanks. I guess I really needed to hear that."

"It's nothing; it seems I really needed to say it." '_Calm down. Keep this up and she'll start asking questions.' _

"Anyway," she began, drowsiness finally creeping into her voice, "I think I should try to get some sleep about now. Sorry to cut the conversation short."

Pulling the phone away from his ear and glancing to his left side, he saw that it was two minutes to midnight. '_Huh. Would have figured it would be earlier.' _

"Yeah, that seems wise. Hopefully blissful slumber awaits me as well."

"I hope so too. Knowing that you don't sleep much worries me." Her tone certainly made that statement believable.

"I'll be fine, trust me," Roxas replied, hoping to pacify. "Anyway, sweet dreams, you bloody diva." Unfortunately, she couldn't see the smug expression he adopted at that little jab.

Her groan said more than words ever could about his tomfoolery. "Good night, Roxas."

At that, she hung up on him. Roxas finally relaxed his posture. He stood after a moment and walked towards the outlet on the wall with the intention of letting his phone charge.

'_That was too fucking close. Way too fucking close. What if she starts asking questions to herself?' _His forehead became creased, and his brow became rigid and wrought with worry. Every muscle in his body tensed at the idea that she might stumble upon why he isolated himself so aggressively.

'_I… I've been too careless; I can't keep taking these chances. It wouldn't do if someone found out, or even started to wonder.' _His breathing, which quickened to a frightening hyperventilation, started to slow as his conclusion was reached. He then knelt to plug the charger into the outlet.

Roxas rose to his feet, with the comfy bed in the corner as his destination. Removing clothes as he went, he reached the side, and briefly exhaled to calm himself.

Slipping between the sheets, hoping to have a peaceful and restful slumber, Roxas only prayed the façade would hold true.

* * *

"Why can't you see that you are my child…? Why don't you know that you are my mind…? Tell everyone in the world… That I'm you… Take this promise to the end of you…"

The sound of his fingers tapping the guitar case definitely made Roxas stand out amongst the vacant seats of the mostly empty tram. Amidst the thoughts revolving around how fucking sweet the song was, the desire to examine the odd circumstances leading to his tram ride came alive. From a purely logical perspective, it was nothing that warranted much analysis. Axel was fairly outgoing, and he felt the urge to introduce a friend to some others. Simple as that, really.

Unfortunately, there was something that bugged Roxas about the whole affair.

Thankfully, losing himself in the wonders of his vast music collection served to pacify some of his racing nerves. In fact, to a stranger looking upon him, he would just appear to be no different from your average guitar case carrying kid lost in the majesty their earbuds produced.

The hurtling beneath him ceased, signaling the tram's arrival at Tram Common, as well as Roxas's imminent departure. He gently removed the earbuds and stood, making sure to grab the case containing his recently acquired prize possession, and then stepped off onto the platform. A few hundred steps later, and he was out the large glass doors and into the high noon sunlight. A brief survey conveyed that Axel had not arrived. Roxas then decided to take a seat on the steps of the building and wait for him…

"Hey, Rucksack!"

'_Seifer. Fantastic. His sneering face should be just the right ingredient to turn this otherwise bland, mundane day into a wonderfully delicious soufflé. …And now I'm comparing my day to pastries…'_

A glance upward revealed the sneering face in question, and the cocky teenager that wore it like a mask of prideful indignance was flanked by his two cronies, as per usual. Khaki cargo shorts and a sleeveless grey T-shirt made up his ensemble, while Rai settled for a red tank top and black sweatpants, and Fuu wore her usual sleeveless medium blue sweater and khaki capris. The sun shone brightly in the clear sky, illuminating them in what could be described as a heavenly glow. Roxas, figuring that they were none too pleased to see his oh-so lovely face, simply remained seated and staring ahead, only vaguely in their general direction.

Unfortunately for him, Seifer seemed to really want his attention. "Hey!" He stepped forward, allowing his shadow to shroud Roxas as his body eclipsed the sun. "Don't you have anything to say to me? Huh!?"

His subordinates stayed silent, and stood fairly still, not moving from their positions as Seifer hovered ever closer to Roxas. He appeared calm, but his eyes were hard and unflinching; like steel arrows attempting to pierce Roxas' calm.

Roxas' eyes were naturally drawn to the motions Seifer made, but he simply stared right through the angry teenager trying his best to intimidate him. A subtle twitch of the hand was the only indication that his uncaring façade was just that.

"Oh, hey, precious. Fancy meeting you here," Roxas called out. Seifer responded by scowling ever so slightly before invading even more of Roxas' personal space.

"You're a lot more talkative than usual. What happened? Did hanging around that weird quiet chick make ya grow a spine all of the sudden?"

'_Fuck. Nowhere to run,'_ he thought, allowing his gaze to dart to and fro for a short moment. '_Outnumbered, surrounded, and no backup. Just my fanschmabulous luck.' _

"Fuck off. She's infinitely cooler than you are, you prick." Any hint of humor in his voice fled at the insult to his friend.

Unfortunately, he was antagonizing somebody who held a clear advantage over him. "Why so sensitive? Mad that I insulted your girlfriend, Roxy?"

"Grow up. Why the hell are you accosting me?" Roxas inquired as he stood up, bracing himself for impact.

"Easy," Seifer began. "That little show in the library got me, Rai, and Fuu suspended for about a week. My old man chewed me out real bad when he found out. Hell, the only reason I'm out of the house right now is cuz he's dumb enough to think that no school is a good enough punishment."

"And how is that my fault? You instigated the whole thing!"

"Fuck you. All I did was ask a few questions, and you decided to be cute about it all. You've always gotta be condescendingly quiet, or a complete smartass."

The leap of logic that facilitated his reasoning was baffling to Roxas. "Or you could have just, I dunno, left us alone? That makes far more sense to me, personally."

"Exactly what I'm talking about. You can't just talk to somebody; you gotta act like you're smarter than them. How's it feel to be up so high above the rest of us?"

"...What are you even talking about? You came up to us, acted like you held some kind of authority over us, and then threatened to "thrash" us whenever I laughed at how stupid the concept was. Where there was I acting like I was above you?" Roxas was completely incredulous at the words spewing from the other boy's mouth. The mirthless chuckle that slipped out afterward just led him to gape in befuddlement.

"You always do that. You **always **fuckin' do that. When we were kids, you just stayed in a corner and hated everybody. Now, any time somebody has to work with you on a project or something, on the off chance that you actually talk to them, all you do is condescend to them." Seifer, whose eyes had steadily become more piercing, stared Roxas dead in the eye. "You're not better than me. You're not better than anyone."

Roxas swallowed the immediate response as the unfortunate truth of the words settled in him. '_I… I can't believe that he's actually kinda right.' _A little denial was to be expected, but a point that correct simply couldn't be fully rebuked.

"And did you ever consider why I might… Do that on occasion?" Roxas replied as smoothly as he could, given the noticeable pause in the middle.

"It doesn't matter whether or not I did. I wouldn't know cuz you never even tell anyone anything that isn't important, let alone something personal. All anybody knows about you comes from rumors, and they're really hard to swallow depending on who tells them. Your mother is a part of every single one, though-"

"Don't you _**dare **_talk about her!" Roxas suddenly growled out, prompting Seifer to adopt a humorless smile.

"So that's it, huh?" He asked rhetorically. "I bet people would laugh at how simple the answer is."

Roxas wasn't quite sure how, but Seifer had stumbled upon his one true trigger. Clearly, Roxas had misjudged his deductive reasoning. '_Why did I have to respond to the obvious bait?'_

"Yeah, they'll get a nice dose of schadenfreude from something I can't control. How sweet of them."

"Oh, you wanna talk about having no control!? You don't know shit about that, Roxy," Seifer burst out angrily. His composure, which had seemed tenuous at best in the beginning, appeared to have completely fled.

"Then enlighten me, O righteous and victimized one," Roxas responded, rather cruelly.

"You wouldn't get it. You've never had to deal with anybody who actually tried to hurt you." His eyes held a faraway look as that sentence was uttered.

Roxas nearly scoffed at such an assertion. "That's one hell of an assumption. How much do you know about it, pray tell?"

"Enough, Roxy. Just enough to know you don't know anything."

"Hilarious. Really. I'm shaking with laughter over here." Even in the face of a righteous beating, Roxas remained perpetually glib.

"I'm happy to be a comedian," replied Seifer, a growl slipping into his tone, "'Cept I really wasn't trying to be funny. "

Roxas ran his eyes over the entire expanse of road, hoping Axel would come and offer a rope to climb out of the violent, threatening hole he unwittingly walked into.

No such luck at that moment.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Seifer's head whipped to the left, searching for the voice of the person who dared to ruin his fun. A lanky, large-haired redhead stood staring back at him, viridian fire sparking in his eyes.

Roxas was saved! By a knight in shining black skinny jeans and a white T-shirt featuring three cartoon men brawling and the words 'Circle Jerks' written above them; clearly a wardrobe decision fit for a king. He took a few steps toward the four, stopped, and then planted himself in a relaxed, yet imposing stance.

Seifer, who had been momentarily struck dumb by the appearance of the great and almighty Axel, seemingly regained his composure and politely inquired as to the aforementioned savior's identity.

"Who the fuck are you!?"

"Not someone you wanna piss off, pal," Axel responded in an even tone. He began walking towards the two who had been squaring off previously, drawing all eyes upon him. Roxas, hoping to avoid a physical confrontation, began edging away from Seifer and his posse.

"And what if I happen to? What then?" Seifer took a couple of steps toward the approaching redhead, chest high and shoulders square.

The clear attempt at macho posturing didn't appear to faze Axel in the slightest. "Unlike you, I'm not the type of guy who goes around making threats. Just back the fuck off of my friend."

The tone of Axel's voice was highly uncharacteristic of what Roxas knew him to speak like. Even in his driest moments, Axel still had a chipper, energetic sound to him that pointed towards his shining gregariousness. None of that was on display in the no nonsense tone that wrapped around his words and made them all the more unnerving.

Seifer, who generally offered whatever comeback seemingly sprang to mind first, stayed oddly quiet. He and Axel were both staring the other down; their feet each dug into the tea rose cobblestones and their bodies were tensed. Seifer, retaining some of his typical behavioral habits, attempted to pierce Axel with a glare of intimidation. Axel's returning stare was more determined in appearance. Fuu and Rai, who had both been still throughout much of the encounter, now faced Axel alongside their leader.

Meanwhile, Roxas was beginning to skirt along the steps and attempting to put distance between Seifer and himself. Fortunately for him, he managed to lift his guitar case up without making a noise, either by banging on the railing or scraping it against the tone. Clutching it tightly in his left hand, he drew nearer to Axel. It seemed like he was in the clear…

"Don't even think about it."

The order came from Seifer without so much as a twitch in his posture. The only indication that he was speaking to Roxas was the fact that he was looking at him in his periphery. Roxas didn't obey him; he kept moving right along, though he braced himself for whatever violent impulses may overtake the other blond.

"If you're thinkin' about blindsiding me, I wouldn't chance it." He briefly jerked his head at his two cohorts, his meaning clear.

Roxas responded, despite himself. He didn't stop walking, however. "Hardly; I'm just trying to go on about my day here."

A scoff resounded from Seifer's mouth. "Yeah, run away. Why change tradition, right?"

Roxas chose not to react with more than a dismissive, "Whatever."

"I guess it runs in the family."

Now, THAT made Roxas stop. "You wanna run that by me again?" His inquiry was made in conjunction with him staring Seifer dead-on. The subject of said stare turned diagonally to the right to match it with one of his own. Axel looked at both of them, confusion written on his face.

"You're pussing out and running away. Like mother, like so-"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Roxas shouted, raising the eyebrows of Fuu and Rai. Seifer appeared to be smug once again, though he did glance in Axel's direction.

"Don't tell me what to do." Seifer closed the distance between the two of them in a split second, leaving them almost nose-to-nose.

"You don't know _anything_ about that. Don't pretend you do," Roxas ground out in a much less noisy manner than his previous outburst. The hand gripping his case clenched tightly enough to render his knuckles white when Seifer responded with a bark of laughter.

"Everybody fuckin' knows about it. Hate to tell you, but it's true."

Seifer would have been a corpse if looks could kill. Thankfully, the murderous mien that Roxas bore could do no such thing. His arm twitched; silently pleading to be allowed to wreak havoc upon Seifer's smug face.

Axel stepped in before it came to that.

"Look, I told you once to back the fuck off," he said as he thrust himself between the two, his back to Roxas. "Do you wanna make a scene? Cuz I am _completely _okay with making a scene."

Seifer stepped back, apparently cowed. Axel, apparently satisfied with that change in his demeanor, rotated slightly and grabbed Roxas' shoulder. He indicated with a movement of his head to begin leaving.

_**SMACK**_

Unfortunately, Seifer had apparently been feinting, and sucker punched Axel right in the temple, dazing him. He then quickly moved towards Roxas, already raising another fist. Roxas had the presence of mind to step into the oncoming punch, knowing that that would force Seifer to be precise. Seifer's fist flew towards his face, apparently having no distinct destination in mind.

The guitar case served as a worthy shield.

Seifer, having punched hard plastic carrying roughly twenty pounds of solid wood within it dead-on and with a good amount of weight put forth, exclaimed in pain. Roxas, seizing the opportunity (as well as relishing it) responded with a slug of his own.

The blow to the jaw served to send Seifer, whose footing had been compromised in his pain, tumbled to the ground.

Roxas was left kneeling, having thrown most of his weight into the punch. He'd figured he had better make it count, since he didn't know if another opportunity would arise. Seifer was clearly woozy, and any semblance of a guard had been eradicated.

'_He's begging for it. __**Really **__begging for it. …Fuck; I can't. It's… It's not right.'_

Roxas heaved a sigh, taking advantage of Seifer's disorientation, and turned towards Axel. He caught the gobsmacked face of Rai as he pivoted, as well as Fuu's less obviously surprised one. Axel, still rubbing at his temple, deigned to tilt his head backwards. The wordless message was all that was needed.

With that, he walked in the direction Axel indicated; the redhead simply walked backwards towards his car – which had been parked about a block away from the actual station, as it had no actual parking lot – warily keeping an eye on the other two accosters.

Coming upon the obsidian vehicle, Roxas opened the rear side passenger's door and laid the case containing his precious guitar upon it gently. He then closed that door and got in the front, where Axel was already waiting. A turning of the key brought the engine to life once more, and within a few seconds, the pair were on the road and heading toward wherever Axel had in mind.

"Soooo…. What the hell was that about?" Axel tried to broach the topic casually, but it was a doomed endeavor.

"Some douche canoe from school. Apparently he blames me for being his being a bully and getting himself suspended."

Roxas knew exactly how far he had veered away from the question. He knew Axel was aware as well.

"I don't really wanna talk about it, if you don't mind."

A nod of assent was his only reply. The silence that followed was thick with deafening awkwardness, and a nonverbal exchange between the pair led to the radio being cranked on, filling the cab with the sound underappreciated punk rock.

"You're in a rut…. You gotta get out of it, out of it, out of it, out of it, out of it…"

* * *

**A/N: Well, this has been delayed, hasn't it? Hopefully the astounding quality on display here has dulled the sting brought on by no updates. Heh heh... I crack me up sometimes. Anyway, I won't make a promise about the next chapter, as I have a few ideas to knock out first, but I'll try to not delay it so much. Writer's block is a venomous, sadistic demon...**

**The first song featured is known as 'Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)', and is by Buzzcocks. I guarantee you've heard it, or at least a cover. Good song, and fun to play on the guitar.**

**The second is called 'Forest', and is by System of a Down. One of my favorites of theirs, though I suck too much to play it on my mighty axe.**

**The last is entitled 'In a Rut', and is by the heavily undervalued band known as The Ruts. I recommend all songs featured, naturally.**

**Now, before I go, Painted With a Palette, my oh-so helpful Beta has a story out called "Sex Sells". Look over on her profile for a summary, but I find it highly amusing, if that counts for anything. It's also rather intirguing in terms of character development. Give her Reviews, as she deserves them heavily. And with that, I'm off.**

**Read, review, and I'll see ya next time.**

**-TheNotSoTalentedPoet**


	6. Inception

**Noise Pollution**

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: The funniest thing happened. I got a letter that claimed to be from Squeenix, but it consisted entirely of the word 'Ha-ha'. Either I'm hilarious (I'm not) or my attempt to acquire this series has all been for naught. Regardless, I don't own a damn thing related to Kingdom Hearts.**

**Just a warning, there will be an underage relationship portrayed here, so if that offends you, avert your eyes immediately. I do not condone these relationships in real life, but this is fiction, and I can't say I don't have fantasies regarding this sort of situation.**

* * *

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there-"

"Really, dude? Are we playing that game?" Axel asked in a weary tone.

Roxas smirked, entirely too amused at his own ludicrously immature antics. "You never gave me any hint as to how long I'll be stuck inside here with you. Forgive me for being curious."

"Smartass," Axel muttered, though he too had a bit of a grin on his face. "Shouldn't be much more than a half-hour or so. 'Specially not with my beautiful self behind the wheel."

"Half-an-hour for the place where the band is, or the morgue, leadfoot?"

Axel didn't verbally acknowledge the quip, but the needle on the speedometer mysteriously dropped shortly thereafter.

Roxas sat back in the passenger seat, feeling significantly more at ease than he had roughly fifteen minutes prior. He watched as Axel took many a turn onto back roads, then onto a main street, and back again.

'_Wonder how long he's lived around here. All these shortcuts say that these either are, or were his stomping grounds.'_

Though that would be a decent topic to springboard off of and into more interesting ones, before Roxas mustered the effort to ask it out of the blue, Axel beat him to the proverbial punch.

"Out of curiosity, what did you think of the show last night?"

With slight confusion in his tone, Roxas replied, "You asked me that last night."

"Yeah, I know," Axel responded without missing a beat. "I remember you being kinda overwhelmed, and I couldn't get a clear opinion outta you."

"So, you're asking me what I thought about it now that I've had the chance to formulate an opinion on it?"

"Basically, yeah."

"On what?" After a moment, Roxas further clarified. "I mean, are you talking about the performance, the songs themselves, the venue, the crowd, my own interactions-"

"All of it."

Axel clearly didn't know what he was in for. Taking a deep breath, Roxas began.

"The songs were pretty much all fantastic. I can maybe think of two of the twelve they played that didn't completely do it for me, and even then, they weren't anything I'd change a radio station for. Admittedly, I don't know how the songs sound compared to a produced, engineered, studio effort, but I can't think of too many ways for them to improve the quality of the performance. The same idea applies to whether or not they had a particularly good show last night, or if it was an off night. Performance-wise, other than a few vocal cracks, and maybe one time where they seemed to lose the rhythm 'till the singer, oddly, got them back on track, they were pretty consistent at sounding harmonious. Harmonious for a noisy punk band, that is." He stopped to breathe for a few seconds, before hitting the word vomit trail running yet again. "I didn't notice any sour notes or mid-song detunings, which is always a plus, and the stage presence and charisma they had was par excellence. The crowd might've been the worst part about it, since they came close to drowning the guys out a couple of times, and I think I saw a few dicks roughing up girls who got sandwiched between them, but nothing that makes me wanna completely disassociate myself with them. The venue itself seemed like the perfect place for them to play, since it's not a complete dive, but still small enough for all the people at the back to be really close to the stage. They seem to respond well to a passionate crowd. And I had a lot of fun."

"Ever think about reviewing concerts for a local zine?" Axel inquired, seeming somewhat serious.

"I wouldn't turn down a job if one offered it to me, but I don't think I'm gonna go actively applying for any position."

Axel shrugged his right shoulder (possibly his left too, but Roxas couldn't tell for sure). "If you ever change your mind, I can think of a few that would probably take you on." Taking a turn down yet another obscure road, Axel conversely got back to his main avenue of discussion. "I'll bet I can guess a major reason you had fun, though."

"Yeah?" Roxas asked, quirking a brow.

"Two reasons, actually, and they both have two X chromosomes."

Realization shined upon Roxas' face. "Oh, the gals?"

'"_Gals?"' _He internally winced. '_Please let him realize I said that ironically. Well, "ironically,"' _he corrected, realizing the flagrant misuse of the term.

Trying but not quite managing to stifle a chuckle, Axel responded. "Yeah, the 'gals.'" Apparently whether or not he realized it was irrelevant. Lovely.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie and say that they didn't contribute at all…" Roxas said, ignoring the well deserved jibe.

"Riiiiight," Axel said with a sarcastic lilt coloring the word.

"No, really; they were good company, but that's about the extent of their contributions to the experience."

"And you mooning over… What was her name again…? Oh! Aqua!" He showcased moment of remembrance with a snap of his fingers before placing his hand back to the 'two' position on the wheel. "Yeah, so you mooning over her all night didn't make it better?"

'_And here I thought I was being subtle about it…' _

"How would you know? You spent almost the entire show in the pit," Roxas pointed out.

"Yeah, but I still looked back every couple of minutes, in case some dickhead hassled youse guys or somethin'."

Roxas shrugged and discreetly lowered his eyes to his lap, attempting to play it cool. The jury was out on whether or not he succeeded. "Yeah, I admit that being next to her made the night more memorable. The same thing applies to Xion. Why'd you even bring it up?"

Axel went quiet for a moment. The road ahead was a straightaway, so he wasn't concentrating on taking a shortcut. Then, as quickly as the moment began, Axel murdered it with a nonchalant response. "I was satisfying my curiosity." He offered a glance in Roxas' direction before following that sentence up. "And I thought you might wanna know that you weren't the only one who couldn't always focus on the guys."

Roxas' eyes perked up, directing their gaze toward Axel, who sported a tiny grin. "Really?" he asked, hope creeping into his tone.

"Uh-huh. Figured you'd wanna know about that." Axel's eye turned to look at Roxas in his periphery. "Now the question is whether or not you'll do anything about it."

Roxas swallowed and swept a hand through his hair. "I… I dunno. I barely know her."

Axel, either deliberately ignoring or not noticing the underlying insecurity in the blond's voice, kept his reply fairly simple and logical. "What better way is there to get to know her?"

He had a point. "... I mean, you're not wrong, but…" Roxas paused, searching for the proper words to express his exact feelings. "It's just… Seems like an awfully huge risk to take for someone who might not be worth the effort. Who's to say I wouldn't become her laughingstock for putting myself out there like that?"

"Having the balls to put yourself out there makes you seem like somebody worth taking a chance on. You can't expect everyone to make the first move with you."

Roxas sealed his lips, not wanting to dig himself deeper. Really, the truth in what Axel was saying was undeniable, even to the most deluded of souls. Realizing that was simple enough, but accepting it was an entirely different matter.

"I…"

Axel raised a hand. "Hey, I'm not trying to tell you what to do or anything; just givin' you food for thought. Anyway, we're here."

Lifting his eyes from his feet, Roxas saw that they had stopped in front of a one story building colored cold, sterile grey. A sign on the wall next to the double glass doors read 'Empty Melodies Studios.'

"They're recording something?" Roxas questioned, looking sidelong at Axel.

Axel cracked a grin. "You catch on quick." While opening the door on his side he continued speaking. "They've been laying tracks down for almost a month. Last night was a little break for 'em; they wanted to play in a place with some life in it." Seeing Roxas' curious look, he quickly amended his statement. "That's what Demyx said, at least. Ya comin'?"

Blinking quickly, Roxas followed suit and exited the vehicle, almost forgetting about his guitar in the backseat. Axel reminded him by pointing his finger at the rear passenger side door, and he carefully removed it, stood for a moment to allow Axel to lock the doors, then followed Axel into the building.

* * *

The halls of Empty Melodies were remarkably sterile in their color scheme. Frigid, unfeeling greys and whites enveloped everything within the building, almost seeming like a hospital.

Roxas was entirely unbothered by the seeming passive hostility. He instead found it oddly intriguing; a metaphor for the idea of soulless machines taking passion and transmuting it into a digestible product. Or he was making analogies where there were none to be made. Probably the latter.

"Huh, this place looked a lot smaller from the outside," Roxas said to no-one in particular.

"Yeah, it's a little misleading," said Axel, who was walking in front of Roxas, acting as a guide. "But it's still a pretty small local studio compared to others."

"I'm not exactly saying it's labyrinthine or anything," Roxas amended, increasing his pace to avoid falling behind. "Still, it'd be pretty simple to get lost in here."

Axel laughed nostalgically. "True. I remember the first few times I was in here - it was embarrassing."

"How long ago was that?"

"Two or three years ago." Axel stopped in front of a door and peeked in the window briefly.

"Why exactly were you in here, then?"

"I was in a band that was cutting a demo here. I think one of the guys' dads either worked here, or knew how to get some snot-nosed punks in here for cheap."

"Now I'm intrigued…"

Axel released a bark of laughter. "It was terrible. We couldn't play, we couldn't write a two-minute song, and we didn't know anything about recording or production. We thought we were hot shit, though, so we tried anyway." He did an about face then, having apparently anticipated the ensuing inquiries. "And before you ask, we broke up before we ever tried to shop the demo around. I also still have it kickin' around, but no-one is hearing it unless I'm hammered."

"Paranoid much?" Roxas jibed.

"You haven't heard it; you know nothing." Before that verbal spar could continue, Axel came to a stop in front of yet another door. "Ah, found it!"

"Why do you sound so proud of yourself?"

"Well…" Axel's tone was as sheepish as Roxas had ever heard it. "I kinda forgot exactly which room they said they'd be in."

"My hero," was all Roxas could utter in response. A very dry response.

Axel didn't appear to see the point in defending himself from that, and pushed the door open, jerking his head at Roxas. The sound of a distorted guitar playing in a slow, deliberate manner pierced the air from the moment the door swung open.

As Roxas entered, he saw what was appeared to be a rather bog standard mixing console at the end of the room, with a glass wall separating it from the pink-haired wonder on guitar in a white room. With no curtains. Large headphones reminiscent of earmuffs adorned his head, and he was playing the same green instrument that Roxas saw him use the previous night.

Tearing his eyes from the deft, precise guitar wizardry, Roxas saw the rest of the band strewn about through the room with the mixing board in it. The only one whose name he had learned - '_Zexion' _\- was seated at the board, listening intently and operating the machine. The one with the majestic mullet was sitting on a couch that was pushed up against the wall on the right and fiddling with his guitar (also the same as the one Roxas saw him utilize during their gig). The large, imposing drummer was slumped against the wall next to the open door, engrossed in some magazine. All were wearing some variety of a T-shirt and jeans, with the only notable alteration being the drummer, whose trousers of choice were denim cutoffs.

Axel walked in almost immediately after Roxas, and shut the door behind him in a silent manner. Roxas didn't make a sound, wanting to preserve the moment, and Axel did the same. They stood there for a few minutes, as it seemed that they had entered at the beginning of them tracking some lead guitar for a song. Roxas felt something tap his left shoulder, and he looked in that direction to see Axel grinning evilly. The redhead held a finger to his lips and winked.

'_Oh, great… The fuck kind of behavior am I enabling?' _Roxas thought, facepalming. Nevertheless, he acquiesced to Axel's request. He was clearly above it all, though.

Axel, for all his noisy antics and manner of speech, was surprisingly adept at moving quietly. Granted, the sounds of a guitar being played fairly loudly served as good cover, but they wouldn't have managed to drown him out if he walked as he usually would. He crept up on the slate-haired man at the board, shoulders shaking as he silently snickered to himself. Once he was within range, he stood still, apparently waiting for something. The nature of that 'something' was revealed after about a minute, whenever the guitarist stopped playing

Eventually that hallowed time came. All was silent as Axel stood behind Zexion, who remained oblivious to the encroaching redhead as he started fiddling with some of the knobs. Axel took a deep breath before leaning in.

"ABLOOGY-WOOGY-WOO!"

The noise that then issued from the startled man with the killer bangs defied all forms of onomatopoeia that Roxas had ever heard of. The pitch, however, was shrill enough to be compared to a mouse being eaten alive from the hind legs up. All in all, a fairly understandable reaction.

Pushing his bangs out of his eyes and taking deep, calming breaths, he uttered in a low, weary tone of voice, "How many times have I told you not to do that, Axel?"

"Four-hundred-and-twenty-nine," replied Axel without missing a beat. The shit eating grin on his face just made Zexion deepen his scowl when he turned his head.

"And here I keep hoping you'll listen…"

While Zexion was still fuming, Axel got right down to business like he hadn't just scared the bajeezus out of somebody. "So, Zexion, Demyx, Lexaeus, this is Roxas," Axel said with a gesture at the blond in question, who remained standing still.

The greetings were rather low-key.

A 'Hi!' from Demyx.

A nod and a grunt from Lexaeus.

Nothing really from Zexion. He was apparently still attempting to vaporize Axel with his glare. Alas, no such luck in that endeavor.

Axel, still seemingly oblivious to the death emanating from Zexion's eyes, continued speaking. "Right, so, Demyx, wanna give him back his jacket?"

"Oh, right!" Reaching across his body, he procured the jacket from its former position of being draped over the back of the couch and tossed it over to Roxas. "So, uh, I don't wanna be nosey, but why did you want this back bad enough to come over here?"

Roxas swallowed for a brief moment before answering. "It's a keepsake from my mother."

Understanding dawned on Demyx's face, followed by something in his eyes. It almost resembled… Loss? Envy?

"That makes sense," Demyx said after a spell.

Not being the especially social type, Roxas was at a loss for words, and since Demyx was still distracted, an awkward quiet took over the atmosphere of the room. After nearly a minute of suffocating silence, Axel sought to remedy that.

"Hey, Roxas." Roxas turned his head in Axel's direction. "Why don't you show us all that fancy axe?"

"Oh, uh, sure."

Demyx, suddenly eager, patted the unused space of the couch next to him. Roxas took the hint and walked over to that side of the room, laid down the case, opened it, and gently extricated the instrument to sounds of awe from Demyx as he caught sight of the majestic music producing device.

"Where in the name of Les Paul did you get that baby?"

Roxas relayed the epic tale while closing the case and setting it upright in the center seat of the couch, taking a seat on the opposite end of Demyx, and placing the guitar in his lap. Demyx, Lexaeus, and even Zexion wore looks of envy as they heard just how much of a lucky son of a gun Roxas was in that moment.

"I only wish the cat had been solid back," Roxas finished wistfully. "It would have been way more ironic."

"Still, man, that's so awesome," Demyx said, still sounding awestruck.

Roxas shrugged in silent agreement. Zexion, from his position at the board, raised an eyebrow before turning around to face the console again, and turned on the microphone that allowed him to speak to the person currently in the recording booth.

"Alright, Marluxia, that was good. I doubt we need another take, so come on out here. That guy Axel mentioned brought that guitar, and you're gonna wanna take a look at it."

Within thirty seconds, the door opened and Marluxia stepped in in all his rose-haired glory, having a look of giddiness in his eyes, but still managing to keep his casual stride without scrambling over to the instrument of apparent reverence.

"May I?" he asked once he had reached the side of the room with the couch, gesturing to the guitar on Roxas' lap. The blond handed it over to him with a nod.

Marluxia allowed his eyes to roam over the body, taking in the burst of silver taking up much of the center, as well as the greenish burst surrounding it as it met the black perimeter. With gentle care, he adjusted it to get the neck and fretboard closer to his eyes. He seemed to be stunned at the dark purple crown inlays in place of the standard dots. Looking at him, Roxas could easily tell how overjoyed he was to be able to hold and examine the guitar. It was subtle, but from the way his eyes flashed with awe, and some small amount of envy, it was readily apparent to someone who had worn that look many times whilst staring into a music store and wistfully gazing at magnificent instruments.

"Rosewood fretboard, DiMarzio pickups… And those fucking inlays..." Marluxia muttered more to himself than anyone else in the room. Another minute or two passed while Marluxia fawned over the sacred noise producer in what was a totally normal and not at all creepy manner before turning to Roxas. "Where did you find this?" he inquired, still dazed from the majesty in his hands.

For the second time in ten minutes, Roxas regaled someone with the tale in a most grandiloquent fashion. Marluxia seemed surprised by the end, but not in quite the same way as his bandmates had been.

"So, it was tucked in an alley by the tram station?" At Roxas's nod, he shook his head. "That doesn't seem right… This thing's had a lot of modifications done to it. I can't understand why anyone would just throw away something this valuable."

"I take it the pickups aren't what comes standard?" Roxas asked. Marluxia shook his head, and Roxas proceeded to make another inquiry. "Well, considering all of the addendums, can you tell when it was made? I mean, I can tell it's a Silverburst model, but I got no headway on the actual year it was put out."

"Hold it for a sec while I look it up," said Marluxia before carefully handing the guitar back to its owner, and pulling his phone out of his pocket afterwards. He tapped something on his screen, and patiently waited for whatever command he inputted to process. Whenever it finally did, he stared intently at the screen as Roxas and the others looked on expectantly. After a spell, Marluxia looked up.

"I got nothing. Gibson only keeps public records from about nineteen-eighty-seven at the earliest, so it's older than that. I think it's one of the original run of Silverbursts."

Roxas gaped at that. "Seriously?" Marluxia nodded in confirmation, leaving Roxas staring down at the guitar in his lap, dumbfounded.

While Roxas sat there looking all reverential, Zexion gathered his bandmates' attention.

"Guys," he said, drawing everyone but Roxas' attention, "I'm about to mix 'Slipstream'. You should watch; you might learn something. "

Everybody in the room, bar Lexaeus and Roxas, went over to Zexion, apparently to learn from the seasoned and wise guru that was he. Roxas could hear Zexion going on about which knobs and buttons did what, but he wasn't really listening. All talk of 'equalization' and 'dynamics' entered one ear and were filtered out of the other.

'_Holy shit… I... Hell, I could get several thousand dollars for this,' _he thought, letting his eyes fall to his lap once again. '_It also explains why it has such a unique and peculiar tone, but fuck… What did I do to deserve this? After everything, why am I getting such a windfall? After her-'_.

That train of thought was heading down a pitch black tunnel.

In an effort to brush off such vile, unhappy thoughts, Roxas did one of the only things that ever granted him even momentary solace. He pulled a pick from his pocket (you never know when the opportunity to play might arise), and began to play.

The guitar was unplugged, but it was still loud enough for him to hear, and that was all he needed. Roxas quickly found himself lost as he played, pouring his emotions out into a minor key riff fraught with suspended chords and played with an odd combination of arpeggios and double stops. Everything around him seemed to stop: the voices emanating from his right, the precipitous thoughts that were previously coursing through his mind, everything. All that mattered was the music.

After what felt like an eternity (in reality, it was only about two-and-a-half minutes) he let his hands drop and breathed deeply. Everything was calm, everything was peaceful. All he felt was relief: relief from the burden of his far too frequent intrusive thoughts.

"Play that again."

Roxas started at the unfamiliar voice, darting his head around to identify the source of it. Looking to his left, he saw that the person who had addressed him was Lexaeus, who had placed his magazine on the floor, and had pulled his knees closer to his chest, listening intently.

"Um, okay…"

And so Roxas played the riff again, this time without losing himself completely. As he reached the end of what he had thus far composed, Lexaeus held up a hand.

"That's really good, but you didn't play it the same way that time," he said with no real inflection to his tone.

Roxas hesitated before answering "... I guess I sort of got caught up in the music the first time, which gave it a different feel."

"It shows. Either way, it's still a great piece. Was it improvised?"

Roxas paused to think, seeing as he hadn't been completely focusing on it the first time. "Kind of. I had the basic progression already mapped out - I came up with it a few weeks ago - but as far as the rhythm goes, I mainly followed what felt correct at the time."

"It really gives it that emotional undertone."

He was clearly a fountain from which words sprang readily. "Do you really think it's that good?"

Lexaeus nodded with utmost seriousness. "It's at least as good as any of their-" he gestured toward the crowd around the mixing console - "Strongest work. And I really mean that."

"I… Thanks." Roxas averted his eyes from Lexaeus, unsure of what to say. Lexaeus wasn't really offering anything to break the silence himself, so they just sat there. Awkwardly.

After another few minutes that felt like forever, but in a much less beautiful way, Lexaeus rose and strode over to the gaggle of guys with their bizarre haircuts and hair colors, looking rather purposeful.

"Marluxia."

The man turned his head in the direction of his addressor, his expression belying his curiosity.

"You should let him plug into your amp."

Marluxia's countenance switched from curious to confused, as well as a bit defensive. "It's set up in there, though," he said, pointing at the actual recording booth he had emerged from. "No way."

Lexaeus was undeterred. "You'll thank me if you do," he replied evenly, but a tad more insistently.

Marluxia began to open his mouth in protest - going by the hard-set steeliness of his eyes - but other voices soon joined in.

"Come on, man," said Demyx, almost pleadingly. "I wanna hear how that guitar sounds. You can't tell me you don't."

"Yeah, really," Axel agreed, though in a less whiny fashion. "I wanna hear some of his stuff too." The last bit was punctuated by an encouraging nod in Roxas' direction.

Zexion was easily the least explicitly enthusiastic. "I'm pretty curious, myself."

Marluxia looked conflicted; like he was yearning to please his friends, but something else was gnawing at him, thus preventing him from caving to peer pressure.

"I…" he trailed off.

Roxas chose that moment to speak up. "It's his equipment." The group all simultaneously looked in his direction, Lexaeus and Zexion rotating slightly to do so. "If he doesn't want to let me use it, then that's all there is to it. Don't try to cajole him into it; not for me."

For a good several moments, nobody in the room spoke. Each wore different expressions (some of disappointment, approval, and a myriad of others) but nobody saw fit to voice the feelings fueling them. Axel looked almost ashamed at having brushed Marluxia's obvious discomfort aside, and Demyx looked outright apologetic. Lexaeus' typically blank visage conveyed a contrasting example of respect and disappointment. Zexion looked a bit miffed at the whole affair.

Marluxia, however, seemed to be rather stunned.

While not entirely gobsmacked, his mien still betrayed signs of surprise, at least before he brought his hand up to cup his forehead, obscuring his eyes. Marluxia exhaled, blowing his bangs forward before speaking once again.

"It's okay; go ahead," he said, gesturing to the room behind him.

Roxas, despite being giddy at the prospect of playing on an amp that was of a high enough quality to be played in public, wanted to make absolutely sure that he was okay with it.

"You're sure it's alright?" he asked.

Marluxia nodded, his eyes still obfuscated. "Just," he said, removing his hand and meeting Roxas' gaze again, "_please _be careful with it."

Roxas simply nodded, though many comments dripping with his usual flippancy sprung to mind, and walked towards the room. Some amount of hesitation seeped out of the calm front he was putting up: his steps had a somewhat noticeable look of assurance, and although he managed to keep his visage stony, it was that particular kind of stoniness that's obviously something of a put-on.

'_Well, I'm finally getting a chance to play for an audience,' _Roxas thought as he opened the door and stepped inside the recording space. Swiftly locating Marluxia's gear - the Vox double stack he had seen the previous night - Roxas exhaled in an attempt to calm his nerves while making his way over to it. Seeing as Marluxia's guitar - again, the same persian green instrument he had been playing at Betwixt and Between - was still plugged in, Roxas knelt down, and unplugged it from the amp, taking great care to not knock the guitar over. After plugging his own in, Roxas spent a few seconds fiddling with the volume knobs until the sound of his playing rang clearly throughout the room. Not wanting to tinker with Marluxia's pre-sets, Roxas simply switched the treble pickup on, choosing to endure the fact that he would have preferred a cleaner overall tone than what he had been given.

Finally, everything was ready. Looking through the glass separating the two adjoining rooms, Roxas saw Demyx looking at him enthusiastically, Axel looking more expectant than enthused, and Zexion almost looking bored. Roxas couldn't tell what Lexaeus was feeling, since at the moment he looked at them all, Lexaeus brought his face near Zexion's ear, presumably to tell him something. After a brief moment, Lexaeus ceased hunching, looked straight at Roxas and nodded.

Sucking in a deep breath, Roxas stilled. He had to allow himself to become adrift in a sea of emotions. Only then would everything sound correct. He closed his eyes, and let himself forget about the outside world.

'_Here goes nothing.' _

For once, he didn't think; he felt. He felt the notes calling out to him, he felt the rhythm coursing through him, conducting the movements of his picking hand. He felt every emotion that the music contained: anger, hopelessness, alienation, and a surprising sense of tranquility at the end of it all.

Roxas hadn't planned on it, and later on, he wouldn't have been able to say where exactly it came from, but in the brief moment before he transitioned back to the riff that had begun the as of them unfinished piece, he heard the call of a refrain that he had been hearing inside of his head for a long time. In that moment, instinct took over, and everything clicked.

"Fade into midnight…

The comfort of oblivion…

There's no future…"

Roxas ended it with a furious flurry of power chords, and opened his eyes.

Faces filled with approval were waiting to greet him.

"Is that all you've got?" Zexion said, leaning into the microphone. Despite the apparent nonchalance of his words, he was actually smiling.

"Uh, yeah," Roxas replied, brushing his bangs out of his face. "At least as far as that piece is concerned."

"That was really good. It still sounds kinda raw, but it's a great structure to build on top of. And do you have lyrics?"

"Uhh…" Roxas scratched the back of his head while pondering his answer. "I've got a melody and some basic ideas, but nothing final, no."

"Come on back here," Zexion said, waving him over.

After Roxas had done as he was was asked, taking his guitar with him, Demyx started gushing a little, asking him about various ideas he had for the further direction of the skeleton he had just played for them. Before Roxas had a chance to respond, Marluxia interjected.

"Let him breathe, Demyx," he said, facepalming at his friend's lack of restraint. "I get why he's acting like that." He turned to Roxas, his eyes alight with an enthusiasm similar to Demyx's. "That has a ton of promise. You should really keep at the whole songwriting thing."

"Thanks, but I think I should actually finish writing a song before calling these attempts 'songwriting'," Roxas said, making sure to use air quotes on the word 'songwriting'.

"Speaking of that," said Zexion, who had just been conferring with Lexaeus, "Would you have a problem with us helping you out with finishing that?"

"Wait, what?" Roxas said in disbelief, his eyes going wide.

"Do you want us to help you with finishing that?" Zexion reiterated, sounding slightly annoyed at having to do so.

"I…" Roxas trailed off, still stunned at the sudden offer. "Well, I'd definitely appreciate it, but I'm curious as to why. Why do you wanna help some amateur?"

Lexaeus answered for Zexion. "It took us a long time to finish one song by ourselves. It would have been a lot easier if we had someone to show us the ropes."

'_So, an altruistic act, then.'_

"You sure you all want to?"

Gestures and sounds of affirmation from all parties served to answer his query.

"So…" Roxas said, still a bit bewildered by their eagerness to help. "Like, when did you wanna do this? Right now?"

"I've got some errands to run," said Zexion, sounding disappointed at his responsibilities' interference. "How about tomorrow, same time? I'm free all day."

"And the rest of you?"

"Zexion handles most of our errands," Marluxia said. "Us three are almost always free."

"Well, as long as I'm not being a bother, then sure." A second after saying that, Roxas remembered that he couldn't reliably rendezvous with them all on his own. "If Axel can take me tomorrow, that is."

The redhead in question waved him off. "No problem. Speaking of which, I should take you back about now."

"Alrighty then." Roxas went over to the couch, re-inserted the guitar into its case, then headed towards the door, Axel trailing behind.

"Nice meeting you!" Demyx shouted in farewell.

"Toodles," was Roxas' goodbye to all of them, before entering the deathly white hallways once again.

"Well, that was something," said Roxas once Axel had finished shutting the door behind him.

"That it was. So, did you make any new friends today, Roxy?" Axel said in an insufferably cheery and condescending tone.

"I don't know; did I?" Roxas asked. Not all that facetiously.

"You're hopeless," Axel deadpanned.

"And you're very encouraging." Roxas could play the deadpan game just as long as Axel could.

"Damn right I am. That thing you played really was good, y'know," Axel said, dropping the sarcasm from his tone.

"Don't oversell it," Roxas said, his gaze falling to the floor.

"Hey," said, putting a hand on Roxas's shoulder, causing him to freeze in place and stiffen uncomfortably. "Don't cut yourself down like that. None of us would have said it if it wasn't true." After saying that, his eyes widened and he removed his hand from Roxas' person.

"I… Thanks," Roxas said shakily, trying to get his breathing under control.

They resumed their stroll outside of the building, and and had reached Axel's vehicle before either of them spoke again.

"So, hearing you play like that got me thinkin' somethin'..."

"Yeah?" Roxas queried, quirking a brow.

"Didja ever think about starting a band?"

* * *

**A/N: ...Okay, this was less writer's block, and more me being rather unsure about how this turned out. This isn't particularly heavily edited, but I deliberated for a long time before writing most of it, in that I heavily considered my word choice for both narration and dialogue, and I wasn't satisfied with my initial projections to jot them down quite often. Hopefully it turned out okay; I'm honestly just sick of second-guessing myself with this one. **

**The refrain that Roxas sings here is obviously a partial poem of mine. It'll be featured in full next chapter, so I'll save giving the name until then.**

**In other news, I've a fic to recommend. Stunning development, I know. It's by the quite talented _BlissfulNightRain_, and it's entitled "The Price of the Stolen Flower." A word of warning: it deals with some very grin and mature subjects, and isn't particularly heavy on the levity. If you like some of the less humorous aspects of "Noise Pollution", you should heavily enjoy this offering. Go leave the lady ****a review, please.**

**Read, review, and I'll see ya next time.**

**-TheNotSoTalentedPoet**


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